Little Hearts, Overflowing Drool
by Bijou Lee
Summary: It's baby madness! Diana discovers she's carrying Bruce's child. How could she ever disclose such merry news to someone who holds a baby like it's a mannequin? Other couples included.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Sue me if you like, but I got this on cyber paper that's scrolled in big, fat letters. And it screams, "I DON'T OWN JUSTICE LEAGUE!" Beat that.

Anyway, this is my other story on Justice League Unlimited. Since I can suppress myself no longer, here it is, flashing right in front of you, crying for attention! But this doesn't mean I'll overlook Cupid ain't just love arrows. I'd like to get started on this one before I'm to be shipped off to Michigan for collegiate reasons, and I hope you'll understand.

So this is Little Hearts, Overflowing Drool for you, my dear readers.

Enjoy!

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Diana stared at her reflection. She blew out a sigh as water trickled down her face, her eyes bloody-red with fatigue darkening her eyes. _Hera_, she resembled an oversized owl at that moment. She then patted her eyes lightly, grabbed the towel that bore B.W. at the hem, dabbed her washed face, and gingerly hung the cotton-soft towel on the metal loop.

Taking one last look in the mirror, she smiled. She couldn't make him worry. She turned the knob, and the abrupt change from cold tile to warm carpet soothed her frigid feet. She inhaled a thankful breath when he was still snoring lightly in bed.

She approached the bed, climbed into the sheets and into his open arms. He snorted in surprise when she pillowed her head on his bare chest. He rubbed his face, involuntarily kneaded her neck. "Can't sleep again?"

Diana stared into his sleepy, blue eyes. "My head's killing me and I could still taste bile in my throat. Other than that, I'm fine."

Bruce sat up, his fingers switching on the bedside lamp. Diana squinted her eyes as light momentarily flashed purple stars in front of her. She cursed under her breath, ignored Bruce's stern eyes on her. "Don't even start." She glanced at the clock on the table. "It's only fifteen past three, and my headache's ebbed down. I'm really fine," she said as she kissed him. "And switch off the light. Our shift's starting in two hours so, we'll need all the rest we can muster before we're called to Watchtower."

When Bruce still didn't move, Diana sighed and stretched herself over him. Darkness consumed them. Diana inwardly moaned when Bruce ran his rough hands down her toned arms. "You're not feeling well. Maybe you need to call in sick for the day."

Diana slid away from him, fell on her side of the bed, and closed her eyes with her back facing him. "You're talking nonsense again. Go to sleep."

She shuddered to think that he was still watching her, his eyes roaming over her hair and back as if he could extract the smallest details from the pores and hair follicles of her skin. Though his observant eye had never unnerved her before, she now felt uneasy and embarrassed of her vulnerability of the situation.

For the past week, she had scrambled out of bed, her head feeling cold, sick, and heavy. She had even snapped at Bruce a few times when he suggested the doctor, and Bruce wasn't a man to say 'no' to. They had yelled and fingered each other throughout some nights. And if Alfred hadn't barged in a couple of nights ago, there would have been an outline of Bruce Wayne on the wall.

She didn't know what was happening to her, to her body. She felt herself quivering when cool air seeped to her bare skin, and she buried herself under the sheets' cover.

Her breath was the only sound that vibrated in her noise-deprived ears as she waited for him to contradict her. But it never came. Instead, he furtively hugged her waist as he relaxed next to her. She burrowed deeper into him, her thick mane muffling his breathing.

"You move too much," Bruce mumbled when she shifted her position against him.

"Go to sleep," she echoed and within a span of two minutes, slept. Finally.

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Bruce grimaced in John's direction when he cooed and made silly faces in Rex's face. Euphoric that his father must have looked like an idiot, Rex squealed in bubbly laughter. John laughed. Bruce frowned.

He tapped on the keyboard, said, "Bet he's concluding that his father's a clown. Can't you squeal somewhere else? You're disturbing the sought silence that wishes funny-looking fathers and drooling babies to get out." Bruce turned. "Isn't Shayera supposed to take care of him today?"

"Hear that, Rex?" John approached Bruce's chair. "Uncle Bruce thinks we're funny. Let's dance in merriment for Gotham's Sir Grumpiness has been appeased."

"John… the door." Bruce gestured to the door.

"Harsh."

"Who wouldn't be when his colleague has turned into a jester and has drool all over the front of his costume." Bruce turned back to the screen. "Seems like you've changed ever since he was born," Bruce uttered softly.

But John didn't hear him. He looked down at his costume, and said, "Oh." He strode to Batman, gently pushed Rex into Bruce's stiffened hands. "Hold him a minute. Need to clean myself up."

Bruce paled as he held the baby by the armpits. Rex's green eyes looked terrified as Batman returned the stare. Suddenly, Rex's face began turning into a hideous shade of red, his mouth curled in a preliminary cry. And the baby let out a shrieking wail.

"John!"

"Coo him, dandle him on your knee. He likes that."

John sounded so far away, like he was walking out of the room. Bruce peered over his shoulder when the monitoring room was dead-quiet excluding the baby's horrific shriek. To his horror, John disappeared. _John, you blithering idiot! After I sew Rex's mouth shut, you're next!_

"Uh… don't cry," he said sternly.

More wails. Rex's tiny fingers were balled in tight, angry fists.

"Shit. C'mon, just be quiet. John—Daddy's coming back soon." _And he'll be dead the moment he comes back._

To his relief, the door behind them slid open and Shayera nearly flew to Batman, her eyes serious and annoyed.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked as she plucked Rex out of his hands. Bruce felt like crumpling to the floor in a pool of relief washing over him. She was currently a godsend and he was sure that John wouldn't be singing Hallelujah! once he gets a hold of the sickeningly merry Green Lantern.

"Trying to convince him to keep his mouth shut. He's louder than the Banshee," Batman muttered as he rubbed his ringing ears.

By now Rex was giggling, his face pale but his cheeks rosy. Shayera wiped Rex's drool with a towel and nibbled on Rex's belly. Rex giggled, drooled more.

"That's because you were holding him the wrong way. It hurts him." She rubbed off drool dripping down the baby's chin, approached Bruce. That prompted him to jump out of the chair.

"Don't you dare do it, Shayera. I'll drop him the second you give him to me."

She raised her brows.

"Might. I might inadvertently drop him."

"You won't. I'll teach you."

Before Bruce could protest, Shayera handed Rex to Bruce. Both the baby and dark hero looked stunned and a bit horrified. Rex looked up, his eyes welling up, his gummy mouth ready to howl.

"Shayera!"

"You're too tense." Shayera stifled a laugh. "Don't hold him by the armpits! Wrap your arm below his butt to support him. Like sitting him up."

"Arm… support… sit up," Bruce recited it like a mantra. "Why the hell am I doing this?" He was flushing with humiliation and irritation.

"Okay, now hold his head." She ignored him. "A little above the neck. There… Now pull him closer."

"What?"

"You heard me. Pull him closer." She rolled her eyes when his eyes widened as Rex began to cry. "You're holding him like he's a ventriloquist's dummy!"

"I'd be choking him if I pull him against my chest!"

"Everything all right in here?" John strolled in, his brows furrowed seriously when he saw Rex crying.

"You!" Bruce started to advance towards John but Shayera stopped him. "Control the temper, especially when you have a baby in your arms." When Batman calmed a bit, Shayera said, "Now, coo him."

"Coo?"

"Dammit, Bruce! A baby couldn't have lowered your IQ in a remarkable duration of ten seconds! Coo him!"

"I didn't ask for help—"

"Coo him!" Shayera and John hissed at him in unison when Rex wailed louder.

Admitting defeat, Bruce stared at the red-faced bundle in his arms and started to bop and hum gently.

_Once there was a way to get back homeward_

_Once there was a way to get back home_

_Sleep pretty darling do not cry_

_And I will sing a lullaby_

_Golden slumbers fill your eyes_

_Smiles awake you when you rise_

_Sleep pretty darling do not cry_

_And I will sing a lullaby_

_Once there was a way to get back homeward_

_Once there was a way to get back home_

_Sleep pretty darling do not cry_

_And I will sing a lullaby_

Rex fell silent, his sparky green eyes smiling up at the Batman. Bruce gruffly surrendered him to his parents. Shayera accepted Rex quietly, her arm lined with Rex's dribble but she ignored it. John, on the other hand, felt his jaw fall, his throat dry and mute.

Bruce glanced down at his baby-salivated boot, said, "I think Shayera's right. I feel like he took a toll out of my brain." He walked out the door, called out, "You owe me big, John."

When the door _swished _close after the Batman, Shayera commented, "Never knew he had a nice voice. We should have more sessions together… Bruce, Rex, and me. That way, we could sleep cozier at night if he would teach me some lullabies. Lullaby is an alien word in the Thanagarian language."

"I think my jaw cracked in shock overdose." John massaged his numb jaw.

Shayera elbowed her husband's rib. "You scared the feathers out of me when you told me you left him with Bruce. You do know that Bruce doesn't have experience?"

"Worth the first." John took Rex out of Shayera's drool-filmed arms. "What's wrong with asking me to sing anyway? I could sing, you know."

Shayera chuckled as she wiped off drool from her arm. "Prove it."

"You want my version of Itsy-Bitsy Spider? Or would you rather hear Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?"

Shayera laughed. "I'm doomed." She pinched Rex's cheek tenderly. "We're both doomed."

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Why was this happening to her? She threw up into the toilet bowl. _Hera_, was she dying? If not, she sure felt like it. The lavatory's stall seemed to be spinning around her, the bowl looked as though it was resuscitated with a life of its own when it undulated in her line of vision. She groaned, wearily stood up.

She unfastened the door's lock, and leaned on the sink. Splashing water on her sallow face, Diana didn't bother turning around when Black Canary thrashed in a cubicle three doors away from where she puked her innards' refuse.

Dinah kicked open the door, her expression of seeing Diana mollified her just a bit. But Diana perceived that her legs were shaking and she modeled the same pallor as Diana's. But Dinah was too frustrated—or was it embarrassment?—to notice Diana closely.

"Excuse me," Dinah said as she quickly walked out of the restroom.

Puzzled and curious of what could have aggravated the blonde martial artist, Diana walked to the stall. It seemed ordinary and sterile as a cubicle ought to be maintained, but when her glance fell on the teeming trashcan, she approached it.

She doubled over when she saw the crumpled makings of 'Pregnancy Test' leaping at her in pink, flashy words. She gasped in shock, touched her flat belly. Morning sickness, mood swings, uncontrollable hunger pangs. Though she was born from clay, she lived long enough in the Man's World to know how the signs of the pregnant cycle developed.

But no… impossible. How could she? Why? Now? Couldn't be.

_Hera._

She jumped when she heard Shayera humming happily as she washed her hands in the sink. Too stunned to care, she darted to Shayera, surprising the former Hawkgirl.

"Diana? What's wrong?"

"I… I…" Tears began to spill and Shayera was too shocked to grab a tissue and offer some to Diana. "I… think… I'm pregnant."

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To be continued…

So. What d'ya think?


	2. Bird's Solace

**I'm so very sorry for taking so long to update! I was wrapping up Cupid ain't just love arrows. Hope y'all understand. Anyways…**

**WWBMForever: He really sucks at babies. I can't wait to make his life a living hell. Thanks for the review.**

**LarSinger: Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter!**

**Ember Witch: I'll update as soon as I can, don't worry. **

**Wondergirl75: That he does. I'll hurry as soon as I can after this.**

**Lavender Gaia: Thanks for helping me find my plot bunny; your suggestions help! ;)**

**arrrgghimapiratenow: Thanks! Hope you'll like this one.**

**ccabello: Thanks, I'll try to write better next time.**

**PriestessHelene: I'll try my best. Thanks.**

**Gotham's Princess: Writing this is so much fun, I hope the feeling's mutual as you skim it through. :D **

**oneredneckgoddess: Thanks, my friend. Enjoy!**

**alittlesummerwine: Thank you! It's baby madness! Woo-hoo!**

**LJP: Mmm… actually, what I meant to say was Hawkgirl used to be her codename, before Thanagar invaded Earth. But now it's plainly Shayera Hol. So, she's not at all retired. Thanks for your review though!**

**bigprisc: Thank you!**

**joeyquinn: You're cool. Thanks.**

**Kiri: I'm glad you're liking it so far. More reviews! Kidding…**

**WiccanWitch14: Chapter 2 complete. Next chapter in progress… ;)**

**amazing redd phoenix: Hope this surpasses your standards! Thanks so very much for your reviews! They make me happy!**

**klutzyspaz: Yes, maybe I am mean. Thank you!**

**SuperheroGirlX: You rock, too! **

**Enjoy!**

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Shayera blinked once. Twice in one second. Three times and continuously that she nearly taped her eyes shut to stop twitching them before Diana got the wrong impression that she suffered from motor neuron disease. When Diana continued to stare at her spasmodic eyes, Shayera finally earned the right sense to close them and just… breathe.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Yes, suck in all the air your lungs can manage, and exhale the used, depleted carbon dioxide all trees will find refreshing. And repeat the two-cycle exercise until your lungs have exhausted itself like an overused vacuum cleaner._ Shayera still remembered the exact words of '_You're Pregnant, Don't Panic!'_ self-help book, which she shredded to pieces right after skimming through the dietary guidelines four times. It was a pain in the baby's poor, malnourished tummy when they strictly recommended vigorous mothers to drink soup all day long until their boobies were gigantic, hot-air balloons with enough milk to spare for a swine to suck.

Diana disrupted Shayera's trip down pregnant memory lane. "Shayera? Are you all right?"

Shayera's eyes popped open, bore shamelessly into Diana's. "You're kidding me."

"I don't think so." Diana gingerly wiped off tears with the back of her hand. She thanked Shayera when she was handed a tissue. "For the past few weeks, I've vomited until Bru—until I had to be pried loose from the toilet bowl with a crowbar, I've felt dizzy with no conducive reason to be, and I… feel… stiff."

Shayera grinned. "You feel stiff?"

Diana could clearly see the amusement in Shayera's eyes, and she scowled at her winged colleague. "You were once pregnant. You do know what I mean."

Shayera nodded, commiserated with Diana's pleading look. "I was the Pregnant Shrew a year ago. Even John couldn't enter the room without being hit by a nightstand. He was lucky I didn't get moody enough to throw my mace at him."

Diana laughed. "Everybody avoided you when they heard you coming down the cafeteria or monitoring room. Bruce was the certified escape artist, and many followed him when rumors of your approach were dead imminent."

Shayera shook her head. "So Bruce was the reason why I always found most rooms empty when I was still carrying a sixth-month-old, kicking and shoving Rex. I'd sure like to _thank_ him one day for making me feel lonely," she said jokingly.

Diana uneasily smiled. "Yeah… that day wouldn't be far long now…"

Shayera didn't seem to hear Diana when Fire and Ice entered the restroom. They smiled at the pair and headed out of the stuffy room.

"Come with me," Shayera ushered Diana to her room. "Either you're really pregnant or you're suffering from an unusual intestinal flu. Speaking of which, how's your period?"

"I was supposed to have it a week ago. But it never came. I pretty much ignored it."

Shayera nodded solemnly, opened her door. As soon as the door closed behind Diana, Shayera rushed into the bathroom. She came out a few seconds later with a white stick that brought cold, cruel dread into Diana's core.

She could feel the air growing warm, then abruptly cold, changing to disturbingly hot, lowering to below zero when Shayera handed her the stick. Such a little harmless thing, yet it could change a woman's life in an instant once the P-word winked at you.

"Go on, I'll wait for you here."

"Shayera…"

Shayera pushed Diana to the bathroom's menacing door. "Don't back out now. You turned to me for help and I'm giving it to you. Now," Shayera smiled at Diana. "If you're too scared to see the result, just close your eyes and knock on the door twice. I'll welcome myself in."

Diana numbly nodded, felt as though the stick in her hand weighed like a Cyclops's wrinkled butt. She slowly locked the door, bode her time as she stared at her reflection. She cried. She felt like crawling into the shower stall, wished that she could drown herself in tears and filtered water until she fully resembled a giant prune. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. She stared down at the harmless thing that might change her life, controlled herself. _Break the thing, Shayera had many more in the box._

Unless she crushed the box and every damn stick in it, she was frozen in place with fright.

She blew out a sigh, washed away the tears, berated herself. She was Wonder Woman, Princess of Themyscira. She couldn't let one stick scare away the regal pride in her. It could result to nothing though, might just be intestinal flu. She gripped the stick precariously, sat on the throne, and braced herself.

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Helena swiped the shrieking clock from its place, ignored the hopeless ruin of what was once her clock two seconds ago. She turned to her other side, was met by Vic's sour breath. That woke her up.

She kicked off the sheets, scrambled out of bed, cursed wildly when her clock's broken parts pierced her foot.

_Knock, knock, knock. _

"Q!" She yelled when she rubbed her foot. "Go answer the damn woodpecker. I think the spring stabbed my toe."

Vic quietly scratched his hair, hurried to the bathroom to bubble his mouth with mouthwash. Huntress followed him, grabbed the mouthwash from his grip, deluged her mouth in it.

When the nippy thumps on wood sounded more annoying than urgently intended, Huntress pushed Q out the door and locked it.

"Answer it," she called out. "I need to shower."

Q sighed, jogged to the door and opened it. His mouth fell open when Dinah, who looked flushed with wild anger ready to implode, stood at the doorway. The sight of a strange man wearing nothing but orange boxers suddenly mitigated her current condition.

Dinah looked at him, surprise and doubt etched in her face. "Is Helena around?"

Q only nodded, avoided eye contact. "She's in the shower. Want to come in?"

Dinah lightly calmed down, stepped into the apartment. "I'm sorry to drop on you… and Helena like this, but I need to talk to her. It's… important."

Still eluding her slightly curious stare, Q nodded. He felt naked and vulnerable without his mask, especially when faced with a Justice League member. He led her to the living room, stuttered when she asked for something to drink.

He nodded again, felt his mouth go dry and heavy and illiterate on him. He knocked on the bathroom's door, whispered that Dinah was waiting in the other room, and rushed to the kitchen.

Dinah, on the other hand, felt like smashing the barely erect coffee table in front of her. She covered her face with her hands, cried once more for the fourth time in two hours.

"I must be dreaming, you're actually crying in my living room." Helena sat next to Dinah, soothed her friend's hand. "What's got you in a fix that would make the toughest girl I know cry like her bunny's missing?"

Dinah looked up, stopped short when Q entered with two steaming mugs in both hands. "Um…"

Helena smiled at Q. "Thanks, Babydoll. You're a lifesaver."

Q smiled lightly, nodded in Dinah's direction. "I have to go as soon as I'm done washing up." Helena stood up, kissed him.

"Okay. Dinner later?"

"Won't miss it."

She mischievously patted his butt and pushed him out the room. She then turned to Dinah and apologized. Dinah shook her head, commented, "If he wasn't too weird, I would have dated him."

Helena grinned, slapped Dinah's arm. "Okay, don't avoid your purpose here. What's eating you?"

Dinah waited until the bathroom's door was bolted shut, and leaned her head on her knee. "I'm pregnant."

"Get out!" Helena's expression was a medley of shock, unease, and light glee.

"I'd love to save my embarrassment, but I need someone to talk to about this. You're the only one."

"Shit. Do I look like someone who has experience in this sorta thing?"

"No. But I need a friend now, Helena. Please, I'm serious here." Dinah's pleading eyes burdened the cool, carefree air in the room. Helena's hands shook as she pushed the mug's mouth to her lips. The warm coffee soothed her iced throat and chest, and she felt better knowing that her odd boyfriend could brew decent coffee. She sighed, breathed in a lungful of oxygen.

"Does he know?"

Dinah shook her head. "I want to kick his ass."

Helena stifled a laugh. "Well, he's the next person who should know. Besides, I hear he already has a son."

"Yeah, he's Justice League too. Nice kid."

Helena noticed that Dinah didn't sound offended by the fact that Green Arrow wasn't as celibate as Vic—until she partially changed him. In retrospect, most men were sex-minded as soon as they hit adolescence. So was she. The Batman used to call her a cheap slut, but Q called her detrimentally sexy.

Q. Meeting him changed her life, her lifestyle, and sure as hell curbed her boy-hunting ways. She looked at Dinah, stroked her friend's wavy hair. "You have to talk to him. He'll understand. Ollie's a good guy, and he loves you."

Dinah slowly ingested Helena's unusual, sincere words. "Thanks," was all she could say at that moment.

Helena understood her. "I'm your good-for-nothing friend. It's what I do."

Dinah hugged Helena before leaving through the door. When Helena locked it once again, she strode to the bedroom, found Q adjusting his fedora.

She kissed him on the cheek, whispered, "Let's have a baby."

She nearly rolled on the floor with heart-stopping laugher as soon as she saw Q's frightening pallor. "I'm just kidding! No way am I ready for three slippery kids taking up the little space we have left in my apartment. Unless we buy a bigger one." She pounced at the bed, laid back with a sigh, folded her arms behind her head, and stared at the bare, yellowing ceiling. "I've always dreamed of having three, maybe four younglings. What do you think?"

She laughed out loud when she saw him gone. He must've made an urgent S.O.S. to Mr. Terrific to beam him up right away. She snatched her phone, left a message in his voicemail.

'_Hey, Babydoll. Don't worry, I was only kidding. Family-planning is so behind me, and I'd never be caught dead talking about it later. I promise. So, remember, 6 sharp, the Old Spaghetti House since that's the only place we can afford these days. Luv ya, bye.'_

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Pregnant. She closed her eyes, shook the stick like how a nurse flicks a thermometer before injecting it into the anus. She kicked at the door, heard Shayera's hesitant voice, and crumpled in Shayera's embrace when her friend saw her face.

"Hera, I… I don't know… I…"

"Shh… just close your eyes, breathe, let's go sit down."

Diana held up the stick but Shayera gestured at the trashcan near the cursed throne. She dropped it and followed Shayera into the kitchenette. Sitting down, she laid her cheek on the table, stared at nothing in particular.

Shayera set the cup of herbal tea next to Diana, sat down across from her. "Who's the father?"

Diana lifelessly looked up, said, "You could kill him for me. He was responsible for making you feel lonely last year."

Shayera stared at her, her eyebrows less than an inch's gap from reaching her hairline. "Bruce Wayne is the father? Bruce… as in our beloved Bruce? The Batman Bruce?"

"Yes." Diana burrowed her face into her folded arms. "How am I supposed to tell him that I'm… pregnant," she muffled.

"Bruce is the father… Sweet Mary, you have to be joking." Shayera felt guilty about being unable to contain her excitement and skepticism of her mind-blowing discovery. This was just too sweet to be true! _Bruce is so dead. Haha! _

"Don't you dare tell John… not until I talk to Bruce about it," Diana interjected Shayera's heavenly moment.

Shayera paused, nodded, then asked, "When? I mean, how? I thought you two ended it few years ago."

Diana sighed, replied, "Let's just say we couldn't keep our hands off of each other." Despite aggravating circumstances, she smiled. "We were completely alone in one of the training rooms in Retrotower, dueled some programmed villains. He dealt with Giganta. By a hair's width, he was that close to beating her but she unexpectedly hit him hard in the chest that his bruised ribs were so critical I had to rush him to the Manor. He refused the hospital, and since Alfred was a medic, well, he always had a loophole." She sipped her tea. "So after treating his injury, I… well… kissed him."

"And one thing led to the other, huh?" Shayera finished for her.

"Pretty much." Diana laughed. "I stunned both men, then I flew out of the Batcave. When I got back to Retrotower, I just laughed."

"You laughed?"

"Giggled like crazy. I couldn't control my suppressed feelings for him any longer, and seeing their wide-eyed, hard as iron reaction made me feel calm about what might come about later. I didn't care if he didn't return the gesture or the spark still burning inside me, but I felt more at ease letting him know that I still cared."

"But…?"

"Two days later, he came to my room, and…" Diana tried to hide the blush coloring her cheeks by leaning her chin on open palms. "He returned the gesture. And so, one thing led to the other. Now, ends up I'm pregnant."

Shayera patted Diana's hand. "I know I must've seemed like a she-devil back then, John even attempted to run away and come back shortly after I give birth to Rex, but having my little boy moving and wrestling with his umbilical cord inside me during those long months gave me joy I thought wouldn't come out of it. And now, I've evolved from my she-devil spell. I'm officially a drool bucket of a mom."

Diana laughed, squeezed Shayera's hand. "You do realize that Amazons are fierce by nature?"

"Are you implying that I should flee while I still can?"

Both women laughed until Shayera got up and hugged Diana. Diana tentatively returned the bear hug, said, "You've changed ever since your little boy was born."

"That's the thrill of it. Sometimes they can give you cramps, headaches, bitching episodes, and fat thighs, but there would always be sheer ecstasy involved. What's more, if you share the sweet pea growing in your tummy with someone you love, all the pain, all the anxiety would just whip by like the wind as if it were there to be felt but forgotten. You have something worth fussing and fighting over, Diana. Don't lose it."

Diana smiled. "I'll try my best not to kill anyone if I start to feel snippy then." She gulped down her tea, set it down. "Did I mention to you that I nearly hurled Bruce through the wall?"

"Sounds to me like the Apocalypse is fast approaching."

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"Ah… good evening, Princess Diana," Alfred greeted her with a suave bow. He motioned for her to sit on the couch, asked, "Tea?"

"Alfred, didn't we talk about not calling me 'Princess Diana' anymore? Diana works just as well," she assured him by tapping his shoulder. "Otherwise, I'll start calling you 'Sir Alfred'."

Alfred's eyes smiled at her. "Yes, well, old habits die hard." He grinned, his moustache twitched. "You're early tonight. Watchtower duty?"

"Yes. Earlier today Bruce was sent to Retrotower when a few Teleporters crashed." She sighed. "He's already a top-notch detective, a major threat to most villains, a brainy scientist, and skilled mechanic. I wonder if there is something Bruce can't do."

"Cook."

Diana's brows shot up. "Really?"

"I once tried to teach the young master to whip up some pancakes. The result: the whole kitchen was covered in batter. Including me. Master Bruce was sly enough to avoid most of it."

Diana laughed. "How could that have happened?"

"He was eleven at that time. The young master was too lazy to mix the batter with his bare hands, and his solution was to transfer it into the puree machine. He forgot to cap the mixer, and you know how it ended. Was severely traumatized after that."

"Eleven?"

"Yes, well, he was very hesitant, you already know the heart-wrenching story. But I convinced him to help me with breakfast rather than stare at the ceiling like a glazed zombie all day. Yet, he turned out more frightful of working in the kitchen than intentional."

"I'm sorry to hear that. So he doesn't know how to cook a single meal?"

"He made many attempts years later after the pancake disaster."

"Fried any eggs?"

"Burned them as black as his costume."

"Stuffed any chicken?"

"Once. But he sprinkled too much pepper. We both had to down two bottles of milk instead of Sherry for Christmas Eve. It was ghastly!"

Diana held back a chuckle. "Cake?"

"He mistook confectioner's sugar for flour. I had to top it with salt because of its appalling sweetness. Unusual, isn't it?"

"Sandwich?"

"He'd rather buy than make one. He's banned from the kitchen anyway. That I'm proud of doing. Now," He adjusted his glove, cleared his throat. "You want something to eat while awaiting his arrival?"

Diana touched her flat stomach, smiled. "Seems like I'm hungry for some turkey."

"By Jove, I've always dreamed of stuffing a freshly slain poultry. I just bought it this morning." He walked towards the kitchen, paused before entering the doorway. "You do know how to cook?"

"I may have been trained to beat the crap out of Giants, but I certainly know how to fry the perfect egg."

"Good enough." Alfred handed her an apron. "Let's get started, shall we?"

As Diana busied herself in the kitchen—nodding at Alfred's gentle instructions as he mercilessly submerged the headless turkey into its saucy, aromatic mixture—she wondered how stuffed turkey could calm Bruce when she was ready to pop the baby news to him.

She smiled down at the profoundly ardent man who was now injecting the viscous batter into the dead bird's skin to enhance the meat's flavor. At least someone might be thrilled.

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_To be continued…_

_So. What ya think? _


	3. Word Spreads

Thanks so very much to my wonderful readers! I really do love y'all! Without any of you to cheer me up, I am nothing, hopeless, and blah. Thank you!

Enjoy!

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An ant could have broken the silence that descended on them. It could have cried, 'Humans call us quiet, well look at them now. Not so loud anymore, are they?' Diana waited for a chance to hear the supposedly mute creature to appear and speak as she scanned the walls, carpet, ceiling, and her food. She could drop a bit of meat on the floor, but Alfred would have detected it in mere seconds and swept it clean before she voiced her reason. It would be just a waste of effort. And she couldn't waste what miniscule energy she had left to tell Bruce the baby news.

Shaking her head when the inane epiphany of her thoughts hit her, she downed her wine. The uncanny quiet must have drove her crazy to the point that she would actually imagine a talking ant mocking them for attention. So she gulped down more wine, refilled it, and drank more. Bruce and Alfred stared, anxious and discomfited by her sudden obsession over her alcoholic drink just then. She wavered a little in her seat, her groan filling the room.

"Princess Diana?" Old habits really were impossible to kill. Alfred approached her, replaced her empty wine glass with water. "Master Bruce and I believe you've drunk too much for the night." He glanced down at the half-eaten thigh swimming in gravy in her plate, said, "Doesn't tally to royalty's taste, does it?"

She patted his gloved hand, sat back with a wide smile pasted on her face. "Mother would have hired you as top cook the moment she's tasted your food. Back home, the specialty was either sheep's intestines or pig feet, depending on which one didn't run away. This certainly surpasses what my home has to offer."

Alfred blushed, chuckled. He abruptly cleared his throat when Bruce eyed him with odd amusement. "You flatter me, Princess Diana."

She looked up, grinned. "It's the truth, and the lot of us know it." Her eyes fell on Bruce's contemplative gaze. Blowing out a sigh, she said gaily, "Sir Alfred, would you please excuse Bruce and me for a minute? I need to talk to him privately if you don't mind."

If she didn't seem oddly cheery, it wouldn't have worried Alfred one bit. He glanced uneasily at Bruce, his wrinkled forehead a sure sign that Bruce shouldn't aggravate her anymore than obviously stated by her sudden downing of wine and mirthful reaction to calling him 'Sir Alfred'. Bruce nodded, stood up, walked to Diana's side when Alfred left them alone.

He tenderly touched her hand, said with heavy concern, "You're drunk."

"That I am," Diana slurred, pushed back the chair behind her, jumped up.

As much as he urged away his eyes from her, he couldn't. The silky, white dress hung low at the cleavage, revealing her strong shoulders and fine back. Her long hair freely framed her beautiful face in the same way as the halter dress precariously held on to her body. He moved his hand along the line of her spine, his fingers burning to unfasten the clasp behind her neck, his lips tentatively touching hers as he spoke.

"What's so important that you had to order Sir Alfred out of the room, Princess?"

Diana smiled, held his hand that rested on her waist, moved it to her stomach. "This."

Bruce frowned, looked down. Was this a multiple-choice question or a guessing game? Was she too intoxicated to realize her puzzling words? Was she implying something that he refused to delve into when it purported terrible things?

He remembered once walking along the street, stopping at a bookstore and finding himself in the women's section. Few people recognized him, whispered to their company when they actually saw Bruce Wayne flipping through pregnancy books.

When their murmurs grew louder by each turn of a page, he calmly put it back in its rightful place, strolled to the newspaper stand, and sat on the couch with his paper. As the onlookers lost interest and wandered someplace suitable to irritate another incidental front-page man, he rushed back to the _'You're Pregnant, Don't Panic!_' book and frantically stopped at the symptoms page.

That same night, when Diana crawled into bed with him, he watched her closely. She did mention she puked a few times, so did the book. She mentioned a headache, he nearly cried when the book said something about that too. He relaxed when she didn't jump out of bed for a snack. His nerves tightened again when he remembered the nights she nearly swung him into the wall.

But as ever jaded, child-phobic man that he was, he simply ignored it.

Yet…

He stepped back, let go of her. "You're going to vomit again?" That seemed to be the only reason, right? She had too much to drink, so it was only sensible for her to say silly things and suddenly puke on his suit.

She couldn't be pregnant, no! A drooling, cranky baby was definitely out of the question. He nearly burned the image of the book in his mind when he couldn't burn the damn thing literally. He couldn't waste his money on a flowery, insidious manual for pregnant mothers when it could never be true. He wore protection, he was careful. He always was. He wasn't frigging Supersperm, for God's sake! Besides, the aforesaid alias was already taken by Oliver Queen.

Diana stared at his pale face. "I'm pregnant, Bruce."

He should have dropped Rex when he had the chance. That way, either he was sent to prison for blaming the floor to have killed the drooling infant or Shayera could have killed him before he had the chance to hear what Diana had just said to him.

"Bruce…" She held his freezing hand. "Say something."

How could he? He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't keep his hanging chin shut. He couldn't even blink! Maybe he could, but he barely noticed it. He couldn't breathe, and he heard Diana calling for Alfred when he must've turned blue.

"Master Bruce, goodness gracious! Breathe, Sir. Breathe!"

Didn't the book mention that too? Christ, he memorized the whole book and he wasn't even pregnant! Dammit! He'd rather choke to death than follow the instructions giddily published for women who were thought to be happy as morning sunshine when they discovered themselves to be carrying babies heavier than watermelons! Plus, would a mother be thrilled when she found out a devil was living inside her? 'Course not.

"Alfred! Do something!" Her head was no longer fuzzy and somehow cleared miraculously when she saw Bruce's awful pallor. She touched his cheek, but he didn't wince or budge. She grew extremely worried when he narrowly resembled Dr. Freeze's popsicle victims.

"Get water!" she yelled when Alfred ran hysterically from the table to the corner of the room, his old knees shaking.

Comprehending her simple directive, Alfred ran to the kitchen, came back with a bucket of water and splashed it on Bruce. Water caught in his eyes and nose as he coughed and swore, and finally, breathed.

She cupped his face in her hands, her body pressed to his soaked shirt. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to kill you." _Almost._

"I thought you'd be happy," she continued when he refused to look at her. "Bruce, please. Speak to me."

He shakily yet gently removed her hands from his face, muttered, "I'll be in the Batcave."

Alfred and Diana wistfully watched him stroll out of the room, his knees ready to give in.

Alfred turned to her, a smile hardly replacing his sorry frown. "I'm happy for the both of you! Congratulations."

Diana suddenly hugged Alfred, wept. "I thought it might thrill him. But… I should have known better."

Alfred dropped the bucket and returned the hug. "Well, Master Bruce has never been wise in this sort of pitch. He's very sensitive when the P-word, or the M-word, or the F-word is involved in a sentence that pertains to him. But who knows? He might pull through, don't give up hope."

He pulled out his handkerchief, wiped her tears. "Master Bruce has a big heart. He obviously shows it through his philanthropic donations and villainy prevention. And on top of all that," he smiled at her. "He loves you. Give him time to unwind. The horror of his childhood is a depressing one, and I believe that he has a hard time adjusting to kids because he has to remember what it was like as a child in order for anyone, in general, to be a loving parent."

Diana choked back the tears, kissed the sweet butler on the cheek. "With or without Bruce's permission, I'd like to make you our child's godfather."

Alfred blushed, smiled. "By Jove, I'm not daft enough to refuse such honor! I'd love to, Prin—"

Diana narrowed her eyes.

"Diana," he murmured as though spikes grew on his tongue. "It will take a long time for me to bend the rule a little, but it's worth it."

"Of course it is," Diana gripped his hands in hers, glanced at the door. "I'm afraid that he might have rolled down the stairs in post-shock."

"Great minds think alike. Shall we have a look—?"

They were interrupted by the sound of oiled gates being open, then swung shut afterwards. An indication that the Bat has flown out of the cave for nightly purposes, Alfred shook his head.

"Looks like our fear hasn't been confirmed," Diana's soft voice betrayed her. So long as he donned on the cowl, it didn't alleviate her worst fear: Bruce could never want a child… their child.

"… Diana…"

She faced him, said, "Perhaps, he's not the only one who could fly off for some alone time." She turned away, added, "Hopefully Mother would be happy to hear a bit of good news from her daughter."

"I'm sure she'll be as pleased as I am."

"Yes, well, being thrilled and comforting doesn't excuse you for eavesdropping," Diana said candidly. She flashed him a grin before turning to the door. "I'll see you later, Alfred."

"Ah… yes. Of course," he muttered, his voice dropped low to hide the embarrassment cramping his well-mannered, British accent. "Fly safe, Princess Diana," he whispered when she climbed the stairs to change.

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He reshuffled his index cards, recited the cheesy lines written on them until his mouth was nothing more than an overwrought chatterbox. He slid on one of the cafeteria's chairs, tried to struggle against the mouth-watering aroma of food.

"A plate of eggs wouldn't hurt anyone," he muttered as he rushed to the table lined with heaps of plate and myriad choices of delicious, hot Oriental delicacies. He chose quickly, returned to his seat to find Shayera giggling at his cards.

"Hey! You're reading sensitive material here," he grabbed all of them from her grasp, counted each one before looking at her. "You messed up the arrangement. Thanks a lot."

Shayera chuckled. "You have eyes as dark as the night, hair blacker than burnt charcoal, skin as smooth as the immense plain I walk on that is my love for you. Marry me, Linda Park."

Wally rushed to her side, covered her mouth with his hand. "Shh… somebody might coincidentally walk by and hear you. Besides," Wally scanned the corresponding card. "You're wrong. I changed burnt charcoal to looming twilight. It was the only word I could think of that rhymed with night."

"Why not say, blacker than the rotten teeth of my fellow knight?"

Wally seemed to take the bait. "Not bad… wait. Rotten teeth! You're kidding me. She'd slap me before I have the chance to say the next line."

"And you thought burnt charcoal's flattering?"

"Sounds better than rotten teeth," he mumbled as he slurped soup. "Read the others?"

"You think I had the chance to read the rest when you're faster than a speeding bullet? Let me see."

Wally shook his head. "You'll mock me."

"I only tweak some for your own good. Hand them over," she ordered as she held out her outstretched hand.

Wally didn't concede. He tucked it away in the unknown abyss of his costume and said, "I'm no chump, Shayera Hol. I know you to be shrewd and sly to read it, laugh it off, crumple it all into papery dust, and tell me that I should act more myself than write tacky declarations of love that might just revolt my Dream Babe. I know you, Shayera Hol, and that is why, I will take my advice that is assumed to be coming from you because you're always the shrewd one and knowing that, I'll burn my hard work as if it never mattered to anyone else but me, which is all that matters. I love Linda and I shouldn't screen the real me with my declared, written poems of love blah blah blah blah."

Shayera just smiled. "I'm impressed Wally… very impressed…"

"Whew!" Flash leaned on his chair, fanned his hot cheeks. "I thought I'd never get through you."

She laughed. "You're so predictable. Give them to me, I'll burn them for you."

"Oh c'mon, Shayera, you know you'll break my heart if you do."

He gave her the pup eyes, his lips quivering. Shayera rolled her eyes, rested her chin on her knuckled fist. "Not working, but I'll let you go just this once. Just this once," she emphasized when Wally sat back, stuffed his mouth with herbed bread.

"Plus, I know you too well to know that you want to tell me something you've sworn never to tell John. What's up?"

Shayera nearly applauded his unnervingly keen, insightful observations, but she'd overlook that for now. She had to tell Wally her revelation for few reasons that Diana needed friends—those who weren't made of clay—to support her back. Knowing Bruce, she sympathized with Diana. What's more, she knew Wally was the man to keep secrets as long as you kept hard tabs on him.

"D's pregnant."

Wally looked up, wide eyes staring into Shayera's cool front. "Wait… Are you referring to our Amazing D?"

"One and only."

"Who's the lucky guy?"

"Your buddy."

Wally's lower jaw dropped, strings of saliva hardly gummed his molars together. "No way."

"Believe it, Wally." She stood up, stretched her back. "That felt good. I trust you won't tell anybody?"

Staring up at her, he said, "You tricked me."

"How could I ever do that to my dearest friend?" She pecked his cheek, winked her eye. "It's our little secret. Adieu."

_D and B are pregnant? Well, technically it's only D because it'd be gross weird when a guy's pregnant but that's not the point! Wait… how? WHEN? How could I have not noticed?_

"Shayera!" He raced out the door, found her walking halfway down the corridor. _How could you drop a load on my shoulders like that? But ya gotta admit, this is juicy good. Oh boy, I pity Bats. But ain't my problem. _He called out Shayera's name again and she finally turned and smirked at him.

"Not enough?"

"By a hair's breadth."

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Her fingertips brushed the dusty wood that was her table's edge; the film of neglect coated her fingers as she brushed them off against her thigh. She opened one of the drawers, beamed when she saw her scrolls placed as how she left it.

"I never touched any of your stuff if that's the reason for checking the drawers."

"If you haven't, why sound guilty?"

Donna was glad that Diana's back faced her. Her cheeks pinked but she quickly retorted, "Okay, maybe just a few when I needed reference, but so I could pass. Geography and Algebra nearly murdered me. So… y'know…"

"Uh-huh." Diana moved to the bed, sat next to her sister, reeled in her private reverie. Unlike her, Donna had frequently visited Themyscira to help her sisters and recycle her 'depleted' brain cells by rummaging through forgotten books tucked away when she bumped into a few of Diana's musty scrolls.

According to Donna, she had enrolled herself in a class full of twelve-year-olds, and that seemed to bring eerie pride into her sister's swelling head when Donna mentioned she topped the class.

"How are your classmates?" Diana asked suddenly.

Donna turned, grinned. "Good, good. Heard of Apoline?"

"Should I?"

"Well, she's the daughter of Apollo. I hear her mother's mortal and Hera disapproves it because Zeus secretly does the somersault when he sees her. There are even rumors about Zeus courting Airhead Apoline."

Diana looked at Donna questioningly. "She didn't inherit Apollo's brain?"

"Apparently she got it from her mom. She's major weird. Like, she eats raw sheep's guts."

"Who? The mother or daughter?" Joining in godly gossips was so exciting and sinful that Diana knew both of them were bound to misfortune, but she wasn't a god, and no god was perfect. So, why would she care?

Plus, it momentarily slipped Bruce off her mind.

"Both. It was disgusting." Donna openly shuddered. "Anyway, she flunked two times, so as class president, I recommended her to repeat kindergarten."

Diana slapped Donna's knee when Donna giggled. "Cheeky. What did Apollo say?"

"Oddly enough, he agreed with me. Thought I was a genius, crowned me Voluptuous Warrior last summer, and vowed to be my dream god as soon as he could convince Apoline's mother to stop chasing after him."

"He nearly cursed you, didn't he?"

Donna pouted. "I was only emanating my emphatic concern for his daughter. They deemed repeating kindergarten as a death sentence. On earth, it wasn't so bad."

"It really depends, and you of all people should have expected their furious reactions. You didn't have any right to opt and declare their daughter's recurrent failure." Diana raked her fingers through Donna's velvety-smooth hair. "Before you judge other people, make sure you're not a twenty-year-old princess amidst twelve-year-olds attending elementary all over again."

Donna opened her mouth, clamped it shut, and muttered, "But fifth grade is like Earth's first year college's curriculum!"

"Geography and Algebra?"

"That was three years ago," Donna said with an ignorant wave of her hand. "Now we're taking up Biochemistry."

"What do you need Biochemistry for?" Diana asked with a raised brow.

Diana nearly shivered in fright when Donna gave her a naughty grin. It was almost similar to the Joker's.

"I dyed Apoline's hair pink," she whispered in Diana's ear, as if afraid that saying it in a normal tone would reveal the sadistic intent obscured by her soft voice.

She giggled hysterically when Diana stared at her in horror. "Hera, who are you and what have you done to my sister!"

"What is all the fuss in here?" Queen Hippolyta entered the room, gasped when Diana's slightly turned profile met her.

"Diana? You're here?" Unable to wait for the obvious answer, she hugged her daughter, afraid to let go. "Oh Hera, thank you. Let me look at you." Hippolyta smoothed Diana's cheek, her tears filming her perfect blue eyes. "Beautiful as ever. Why didn't you announce that you've returned? We would have made preparations…"

"Oh Mother, it's quite unnecessary, I assure you. And you," She held her mother's hand. "Need to sit down. I have wonderful news… for the both of you."

In case both her mother and Donna screamed after hearing her pregnant, she had to close the door before facing them. The moment she stopped in front of them, she was completely lost for words when she saw them staring at her expectantly; Donna's hand rested on their mother's, and their blue eyes were staring into hers as if her anxiety and mirth were evident in her unusual, shy gaze.

"Well?" Donna asked, her knuckles white with eager impatience. Hippolyta muttered, "Donna… don't rush your sister."

"But I'm hungry," Donna whined.

"Shush. I saw you lurking into the kitchen half an hour ago," Hippolyta looked at her frozen daughter. "Diana, you seem ill."

"Mother, I'm… I'm…" She couldn't say it. How could she when her mother and sister never expected her to be in love with a man in the first place? And expecting a child after years of absence would probably inculcate more scandal than intended. She could say that she was in love, but Donna disliked Bruce when he called her hopeless once. Bruce had always been a horrible judge of character and skill, and Donna refused to listen to further explanation afterwards.

Donna might just laugh, telling Mother that Bruce was an ugly brute even though Mother had already met him and favored him… slightly. Anyway, she couldn't waste her time in defending Bruce's sweet, caring nature; Donna wouldn't allow it.

She had to say it now though. Now! It wasn't so difficult. _P-r-e-g-n-a-n-t. Say it, Diana. You can do it. Pregnant. Or maybe intestinal flu was more believable. _

_Knock, knock. _

"Your Highness—"

"For Hera's sake, we're having a reunion here! Are you too blind to see? Of course you are! Nevertheless, the door was closed so there would be no interruptions! Isn't that the purpose of a door? Now, wait outside while I talk to Mother and Donna!"

Diana slammed the door before the stunned soldier could utter a word. She was seething when Hippolyta and Donna stared at her, wide-eyed, speechless, and mouths wide enough to allow a swarm of flies to call it their newfound, spacious home.

"Diana!" Hippolyta finally regained her composure, glowered at her daughter, sprung up from the foot of the bed. "That was uncalled for!"

"Absolutely the most stunning sight I've ever seen in my life." Donna applauded. Hippolyta glared at her, Donna stopped.

Hippolyta turned to Diana, huffed out a breath. "I'm disappointed in you, Diana." She walked past Diana, said, "More pressing matters might be at hand. Do bear in mind that you are not born of royalty so you may attain what is desired. You were raised as a civilized princess such as one who doesn't bang the door in a guard's face, for instance." She pinched the bridged of her nose, opened the door. "We'll talk more about your behavior later."

As the door closed, Diana crashed on the bed, her face buried on the pillow's soft pad. Her belly still flat, she wondered if mood swings started as early as now. The size of a granule yet highly aggressive, her baby was already as fierce as her. She sighed, groaned when her stomach grumbled in hungry complaint. The baby had no mercy indeed.

She felt Donna poking her arm.

"What?"

"Who were you and what have you done to my sister!"

Diana playfully threw the pillow at Donna, sat up. She leaned close to Donna's face, their noses a few inches apart. "I'm pregnant," she murmured.

Donna laughed. "You really crack me up. Hahaha… c'mon. Seriously. Why'd you zing the guard that way? And so suddenly. Are you all right?"

"I would be if you take me seriously," Diana said, her voice cool and serious. "Bruce is the father."

Seeing her sister's reaction was worse than watching Bruce turn blue earlier. _I wonder if they have salad in the kitchen. _Donna continued to gawk at Diana. _Roasted Lamb might be more filling though. _Donna tried to speak, but it sounded more like a frog's croak _Or soup would do just fine. _Donna paled, and it worried Diana. But her stomach couldn't stop growling.

She hopped off the bed, left Donna watching her walk out the door. "I'm starving. If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen."

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"You look worse than usual."

Silence.

"Finding you in my usual lookout worries me. Can you loom somewhere else?"

The silence was deafening, and Dick clenched his teeth to stop them from chattering before Bruce yanked them out his mouth with a wrench.

Both of them sat still as they monitored harlequin, speeding vehicles zipping below them. Bathed under the moonlight's beam and looking down at the city's fast pace normally eased the tension of the harrowing day; but tonight was awfully different.

Frequently wondering Bruce's abrupt visit to one of Bludhaven's precipitous buildings, he couldn't unwind the knot that occasionally bothered his shoulders. He rubbed them, winced when the pain spilled throughout his back. He seriously had to pamper himself once in a while. A day in a spa would have felt like heaven. The only problem was that he had lesser time for himself than wanted these days. And dreaming of half-naked women kneading his back didn't bring any satisfaction at all; instead, his back pain did more harm than respite when imaginary spas were assumed to be as calming and satisfying as the real thing.

"I can't think. I'm moving to another rooftop." Dick stood up, stretched his aching back. "See you 'round."

"Dick."

"Yes?"

Bruce sighed, laid his head on his fisted hand. "Diana's pregnant."

"So?" His night may have not ended as planned, but somehow he knew that it would end better than previous nights. He waited until Bruce told him a few details—simple and short as always—and he grinned inwardly.

_I'm gonna be a brother! Ho ho… wait till Donna hears this. I wonder if we should hold a baby bash. Mmm…_

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To be continued…

So, what do y'all think?

Author's note: I'm still not sure if I should 'creatively' impregnate Helena. Got any suggestions? And what do you think of the idea of Linda expecting one too? Maybe Donna/ Dick as well?

I'd love to hear from you!


	4. What the Future Holds

**I'm so sorry for taking too long to update… I'm now in college, so bear with me as I try my best to make your day momentarily happy! I hope this will compensate for the holdup and the brief loss of my plot bunny. **

**Also, many thanks to Sunshine Silverjojo, Wondergil75, arrrgghimapiratenow, Nyx - Night Goddess, dee-unlm1t3d, Gotham's Princess, Lavender Gaia, mychemicalromancefan4life, oneredneckgoddess, klutzyspaz, Proponent of EVO, LJP, ccabello, Supergirl, Icha, monstez, the laughing hermit, Ember Witch, Purple Strobe, alittlesummerwine, Audley, sammie, Readerfreak10, thealphamale, Monito, JLAfan, and BuffySMG18.. **

**You make me happy, and now I'll try my best to return the favor… ;)**

**Enjoy!**

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"I can reserve you seats at a fancy joint tonight," Helena chirped through the thick silence that hung over the line. "Or would you rather settle it in a bar?"

Dinah let out a heavy sigh. "The bar down the street sounds inviting enough. Down a couple or more drinks, smack Ollie right in the face if I get too emotional afterwards. The scene wouldn't be as catastrophic if we choose a place where I can let out my frustration and earn decent, rowdy audience all at once. Yeah, hopefully Jim wouldn't mind the potential ruckus his bar's gonna get if this pea-sized zygote starts bringing out the hormones right then and there."

Dinah was twirling the phone cord restlessly around her index finger; red marks dug in her skin's finger even after dropping the chord. Feeling nervous, Dinah stood up, leaned her hip on the bedside table. Still shaking, she bit her lip.

"Dammit, Helena. I can't think straight! What should I do?"

Helena sighed. "You already asked me that question an hour ago. Tell him you're having a baby. Tell him you're fucked up. Tell him you want to kick him in the face until his cheekbones cave in. Tell him you want to boot him in the crotch, pin his balls down with your heel, hear him squeal with tears streaming down his sorry, pleading eyes—"

"Helena! That's enough. Spare me some bile that's barely left in my acid-deprived gut! Jeez," she said with gross expression etched in her face. Nonetheless Dinah laughed, shook her head. She imagined Helena looking blandly at the wall in front of her, yawning at Dinah's Ollie-deprecating protests.

"You got one sick head," Dinah added.

"You got one merciless zygote," Helena countered. When Dinah didn't say a word, Helena continued, "I ordered Chinese take away for you. It's coming to your place in ten minutes or less. That should give you enough strength to beat the crap out of your man if you're craving for bloody war."

Dinah smiled. "Thanks, Helena."

"Sure. Have a wonderful evening."

Dinah swallowed the sarcasm that itched her throat. Instead, she croaked, "I'll try to stay optimistic."

"Bye."

"Bye, Helena." When the line went dead and the beeping started to screech in her ear, she returned the phone to its cradle. Staring at the bleary sky beyond the window's glass, she rested her head on her open palm.

_I am fucked up. I want to kick Ollie in the face until his cheekbones cave in. I want to… maybe Helena went a little bit too far there. But I do wish… I wasn't having this baby. _

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"Nice night for some steamy gumbo and fries, ain't it?" A middle-aged waitress with a nametag 'Sandy' plucked her notepad from her pocket, pen in hand. "What d'ya want, Hun?"

She scanned through the menu, sniffed the diner's stuffy air. "I smell fried buns."

"Would you like your meat rare? Want tomato, pickles, cheese, mustard, lettuce with it?"

_Who the hell puts mustard in their burgers?_

"No mustard, please. Medium-rare. Just ketchup. And fries with the whole thing, too."

"Gumbo's tonight specialty," added Sandy cheerily.

"I'll have that then." A familiar voice from behind Sandy interrupted them as he slipped himself into the booth from across the young woman. "Mind adding two cups of coffee with all that?"

"Gotcha, Cutie. Be right back with your grub."

Donna smiled. "_Cutie_. When's the last time somebody twice as old as you called you the same pet name and you couldn't stop grinning even when I had to pull your face so hard that tears fell? If I could recall right…"

"I think her name was Andrea. And she wasn't that old. And neither is Sandy," Dick teasingly shook his head, kicked Donna's leg underneath the table.

Donna snickered, returned the kick. "So now you're defending Sandy. How sweet. Why didn't Starfire and I get the same loving defense?"

"So finally you're admitting that you love me."

"Ever heard of gullibility?"

"Not part of my vocabulary. Why?" Dick asked with a wry grin.

"Check the dictionary. That's what you are."

Dick laughed, leaned back on the hard, plush seat. "How's home treating you?"

"They banned me from the kitchen between eating hours. How do they expect me to live? How do they expect a growing girl like me to grow gracefully? They just don't get it."

"In case you haven't noticed, you are a grown woman… physically speaking," Dick turned to Sandy, who was holding a tray full of oily, delicious food. He flashed her a grin, said his thanks when she deposited their orders on the table.

"Enjoy your dinner, Cutie," she winked at him, then walked away.

"Why didn't she acknowledge me? I'm a customer too, you know," Donna demanded as she swallowed a fat fry.

"You complain too much."

"You're such a suck up."

"At least I have irresistible charm," Dick countered right before spooning his soup.

"Yeah. Like _Daddy_, like son," Donna grumbled. "You can never get enough of that in the Justice League."

Dick raised a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're a detective, figure it out."

"You're the one who called me to come here. Spill it."

"Dammit. Bruce screwed my sister!" Donna hissed at Dick.

Dick narrowed his eyes, gently laid his spoon on the table. "I take it you're still mad at him."

"Damn right I am! And whether Diana loves him or not, I will forever, in Hera's name I swear, dislike him!"

Dick stifled a laugh. "Dislike… is that a euphemism?"

"I've learned that hate is too harshly put. I have a soft side, mind you."

"I'm sure you do," Dick said when he grabbed his spoon. He then continued, "Bruce told me the news the other night. He didn't add details or specifics, so I was hoping you could give me the juicy stuff."

"Juicy stuff… let's see… he screwed her, she got pregnant, hormones are now _whooshing_ in her bloodstream in turbo speed, and Mother is clueless and furious of her hormonal outburst. End of details as far as I know."

Looking displeased, Dick clicked his tongue between his teeth. "Diana never told you about how and when their relationship began?"

"There was no time for that. Besides, why didn't you ask Bruce about it?"

"Gee… I don't know. If he ever disclosed anything to me, Bruce and I might've already spilled our misgivings toward each other by now. It's sad really, thinking about how far we've grown apart, don't you think so?"

He regretted those words the second they rushed out. _Shit._

Donna gave him a wistful smile. "I take it you weren't lying."

Dick drew in a deep breath, grabbed a fry from Donna's plate. "Have you contacted Wally yet?"

"I'm getting there. But lemme enjoy my dinner for now, ok?"

"Right. Ok."

"How's the gumbo?"

"Hot."

"Hmm… mind if I try some?"

"Nope."

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How did she end up this way?

Hair pulled up in a careless fashion, loose T-shirt, fuzzy slippers, and panties was her attire for the night—the night when Ollie was gonna get his lungs knocked out by the baby news. Oh well.

_Ding dong._

Show time.

She was not ready for this. Thinking back, how did she end up calling Ollie's cell? How did she even manage to order him to come on over because she supposedly had something important to tell him? How indeed? Everything was a blur; she could not remember anything. It was like a trance, like she was stuck in a dream-like state… nothing was clear anymore.

_Ding dong. Ding dong._

_I'm coming already. Keep your pants up, I'm almost there!_

But she didn't move a muscle. Standing in the middle of her bedroom, she blew out a sigh, glanced at the full-length mirror.

Dinah studied herself in the mirror one more time before she hesitantly ventured in the front door's direction.

She peeped into the fish hole where Ollie in a handsome suit—showoff—stood in the doorstep with flowers in hand. Wait until he heard the news, flowers would do no good for him.

Since when was she so bitter toward him? Was it the hormones acting up again? Dammit, it was starting to gnaw at her already. She suddenly felt like retreating into her room and cry until she drowned in tears.

Everything… now… the baby… it was too much. And Ollie… what would he say? Think? Would he leave her as how her father left her mother? Would she be alone to take care of this baby? Ollie had women whom he impregnated and he left them. Was she no exception?

She started to step back, tears began to stream. She couldn't tell him, not ever, never. He shouldn't know. This was so hard… this was impossible.

_But he's right there… in front of me. The only thing that separates him from me is that stupid door. _

"Dinah?" his muffled voice called out in constrained panic.

_Be quiet, please. I don't want—_

"Dinah? Are you there?"

_Knock. Knock. _

_Go away!_

To her horror, she heard the jiggling of keys. She shouldn't have given him the spare key. But before she could engage the deadbolt, Ollie, wide-eyed and confused, opened the door and stared at her. He saw her tears and rushed to her.

On impulse, Dinah ran to her room, but he caught her by the hand and pulled her against him, hugged her tightly.

"Dinah…"

"Shut up."

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Go away."

"You were strange on the phone."

"You're making no sense."

"Neither did you."

"Get out."

"Why are you pushing me away when you're not telling me anything?"

She looked into his dark eyes, looked at them closely, peered at them to see a hint of a deception. But all she saw was warmth, concern… and possibly love.

Before she realized what he was doing, he untangled her hair, his hand tenderly raking her undone waves. From his pocket, he fished out his scented handkerchief and wiped her tears. He was gentle, so loving—maybe he did care. Maybe he'd stay.

"Ollie…"

"What's up?"

"I'm pregnant."

Silence.

Hell broke lose.

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"Finally you've returned." Alfred glanced at his watch, confirmed that it was three hours past midnight, added, "Rather early than the usual hours if I say so myself."

"You didn't have to wait up for me," Bruce pulled back his mask and began to unfasten his utility belt. Tearing away from Alfred's hard gaze, he moved to his computer screen. "How's Diana?"

"She left, Sir."

"Left?"

"I was hoping that you bumped into each other along the way. Well," Alfred climbed up the stairs. "my intuition seems to fail me these past few days. Rather strange if I could say so bluntly."

"You just did."

I'm fully aware of that, Sir." Alfred smiled. "I trust that you could go to your room with no trouble."

"You don't have to worry about me."

"You always say that, Sir. But for some reason, I feel otherwise."

"Your gumption may not always be accurate then."

"It usually is though, Sir," Alfred said, nodding in Bruce's direction. "Goodnight, Sir. Please don't keep yourself up too late."

"I'll try," he mumbled and crashed into his swiveling chair. Staring blankly at the blue screens, his thoughts turned to Diana. Where could she have gone? He pressed a key and miniature displays of feedback from his hidden cameras planted around the mansion appeared before him. He hit playback and the screen to the right showed him Diana flying eastward.

Themyscyra.

He suddenly stood up, paced back and forth, lines wrinkled his forehead. This was not good. If the Queen… if Diana told her mother about the baby… Amazons could never conceive children in the first place. Actually, they could biologically. But it was not expected in their bloodline. It was not politically correct. If Queen Hippolyta found out that he was the father and she didn't so much as approve it, she could…

_Shit._

"Still wide awake I see," Diana emerged from the shadows, smiled lightly at Bruce's stunned reaction.

_I should have sensed her. Why didn't I notice her? What the hell is wrong with me?!_

As if reading his mind, Diana said, "Don't worry. Nothing's wrong with you. You were only thinking too much that you experienced a glitch in your internal bat signal."

Bruce turned away, cleared his throat. "Where were you?"

"I could ask you the same question." She approached him but he moved away, sat in his chair.

"I asked you first," he grumbled.

She looked at the screens, saw her paused figure suspended in air. "You were watching me."

"Curious about your current whereabouts."

"I'm sure you know where I flew to?"

"Homeward."

As she moved in front of him, he avoided her eyes. Feeling annoyed, she backed away.

"Fine. Ok. Well, I'm tired. So I'm going to bed now…"

He didn't answer her. He just typed on his keyboard, his focus fixed on the screen.

Diana felt a painful tug in her heart, a tear left a thin trail down her cheek. She should have stayed home, despite the fact that Mother ignored her for the most part of the day right after her outburst and Donna was missing when she came back from the kitchen.

As she sat on the bed's edge, she looked out the window and wondered about her future, about the little thing moving inside her. She wondered if she had a future with Bruce, along with this baby, their child.

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**So… what do you people think? Good, yes? No? Tell me! **

**I'm so sorry if I ended it here, by the way. I have to wrap it up because I'm quite busy these days. But don't worry, I really do promise to update the next chapter sooner… just excuse me for now 'cuz college is such a nagger! **

**Anyhow, I love you people so much! Please don't get too upset… I really, really, really do vow to update sooner. It won't take any longer than two months… that I can assure you. :D**

**So… to be continued… **


	5. Silent Vows

Sorry to keep y'all waiting! I would like to thank the following wonderful people who've never failed to make me happy: ccabello, LarSinger, oneredneckgoddess, Icha, Lavender Gaia, SuperheroGirlX, Readerfreak10, monstez, Wondergirl75, darklover, xxemptyinsidexx, amy, Writing Destiny, klutzyspaz, Monito, librastar, St. Francis de Sales, kenseikan weirdo, Thietje, Brittany Brown, and Lord Firefox. Others, however, who I have not mentioned—I am indebted to you people as well for simply reading my fic, even though you have only read it and saw no point in dropping comments—I still am grateful for everyone of you! I love you all!!!

So Enjoy!

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_Hell broke lose._

He couldn't remember what had exactly happened, but as he squinted his eyes to open, blue, agonizing stars appeared in his line of vision. He choked back a groan and tried to get up, but his legs immediately folded behind him as he struggled to stand. Hopeless, he rubbed his temples, blew out a sigh.

"If you hadn't given me that stupid, dumbfounded stare, I would have gone easy on you," Dinah's voice surprised him as she re-entered the living room, and he cursed under his breath when he felt goose bumps crawling up his skin because of her sudden entry. Ollie swallowed heated sarcasm when Dinah dropped ice pack on his bruised face. In a surprisingly calm manner, he kept quiet and rubbed the cool bag over the fiery, excruciating swelling forming along the right side of his face.

As much as he wanted to retort, he could not; his lips were chapped and bleeding; cheeks were coloring with an unflattering hue; and his right eye were swore and unwilling to open from the bruise that pained his face. He sighed once again, tried to look up. He was met by dark, angry eyes and frowned.

"You didn't give me a chance to explain myself," he muttered. "If you were in my position, you would have been as shocked as I was… am."

Dinah shook her head, snorted at him. "All you men are alike. You blame us for acting so rashly when you are the cause for all of this." She patted her flat belly to emphasize her point. "You screwed a lot of women and now you blame me for acting without any good reason to be. Jeez, I just don't freakin' care anymore!"

She pressed her palms on her forehead, fought tears from spilling out.

"Dinah…" Ollie reached out but she abruptly turned from him.

"Get out… just… out."

It was so simple to break free from the convoluted makings of this kind of relationship. So easy to walk away, drop his spare key on the coffee table, and end the relationship right there and then. An easy getaway from an impossible relationship-slammer—most men would have done just that. But looking at her small figure, so strong on the outside yet fragile at the same time… it was an unlikely sight seeing her this way. He couldn't just leave her not because of her vulnerable state but for the reason that she had always driven a wrench through his heart.

He simply loved her, loved her too much that looking at her now—it was impossible not to look away and feel blood rushing to his face. A tug in his heart pulled him to her, his arms instinctively embracing her, his lips leaving a red smear on her forehead.

"I'm guessing that your estrogen hormones are clogging your mental processes. Couldn't think straight now, could you?"

Dinah looked at him strangely, her eyebrows knitting together with both irritation and confusion stressing her beautiful face. "What are you talking about?"

Ollie interrupted her, kissed her lightly. He smoothed her face, her hair, lined her face with his long, callous fingers. Dinah felt like digging her face into his gentle, alluring hands. He was so good, so gentle, so him. Was this real? Was he willing to stay with her? She forced her fearful self to look up and cried when his loving eyes bore into hers.

She buried her face in his chest, muttered, "Damn you. Dammit! Why? I just don't get you!"

"You're an idiot for thinking that I would have left you… really, an idiot." He framed her face with his hands. "I love you and I would be beyond sanity to dare leave you for this reason." He tried to smile but pain prompted him to grimace. He instead gingerly poked her belly. When she struggled not to laugh under his touch, he let his hand rest there and grinned. "This shouldn't be a reason for us to move apart but rather, to grow closer to each other…"

Feeling like her brain cells had spilled out of her system, she was speechless. She was also crying until her tear ducts went dry. Then she suddenly laughed, giggled until she felt like peeing in her underwear. "You're so cheesy… haha… shut up. Really, what a speech… man! C'mon, you didn't have to be so serious about it… Oh Ollie…"

Despite feeling stupid and embarrassed, she felt like hugging and dragging him into her bedroom as she found herself in the mood for some perverted fun. _Maybe having this baby wasn't so bad as she thought it would be._ With an evil grin, Dinah wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him deeply, tasted blood from his wounded lip.

"Get your ass into bed. I'll clean your bruises just as soon as I get some water and towels from the kitchen…"

Ollie lightly released his grip around her waist, excited anticipation obvious in his face. "Looks like my cheesy line got you." He teasingly circled a finger around her belly button. "Hurry up, will you?"

"If you can't wait in the bedroom, want to go straight to the kitchen?"

Ollie laughed, kissed her neck in spite of the pain shooting through his lips. "I've learned that immediate gratification doesn't pay as well as the delayed equal…" He once again kissed her collarbone, nibbled her earlobe. He suddenly stopped dead when he heard a familiar chuckle coming from the doorway.

The couple shot a surprised look at the young man leaning cockily on the doorframe whose grin didn't seem as flattering as they liked it to be.

"Quick advice to the both of you if you expect privacy: close the front door before thinking of making hot love in the kitchen," Roy, one of Ollie's sons and also known as Ollie's sidekick Arsenal, strode past them, into the kitchen. "Got anything to eat? I'm starved."

By now, Ollie released Dinah and stood next to his son with a furious expression. "How long have you been listening in? Or should I say, intruding?"

Roy gave him a blank look and went directly to the refrigerator, took out an apple. Ollie walked to his son's side, grabbed the fruit, put it back, and slammed the door shut. "If you got the guts to live, face me and answer me straight. You don't have the right to suddenly intrude into someone's place and what's more, eat _her_ food. So if that's your only purpose here, leave."

Roy looked at Dinah cockily, flashed her a naughty grin. "Hey gorgeous. Sorry for intruding. I saw the door open, was a tad concerned and heard you sobbing and then flirting all over my old man. I was a bit envious, thought of showing some concern by closing the door after myself before anyone else saw the strange sight…"

Amused, Dinah walked to him, patted his cheek. "Quite the asshole, aren't you?"

"To my father?" Roy looked at Ollie. "Hell, yes. To you," he said as he lifted her hand and kissed it. "Never." His eyes scanned down her exposed legs. "You look beautiful as ever." He then glanced at his father's face. "Nasty."

"If you don't have anything else important to say or do here, I swear I'll send you flying out the window." Ollie's face was stone cold and Roy had to swallow hard to choke down the squeak that nearly escaped his lips when he saw his father's scary stare on him.

"Uh… I… didn't really mean to intrude or bother the both of you. I dropped by your place, saw that you were nowhere to be found, then I supposed that you were here… I uh… needed to talk to you about something… so…"

"You got kicked out again, didn't you?"

Roy heaved out a long sigh, his fingers running through his reddish hair. "Job didn't match up to my liking. So I quit. And to make things worse for me, this month's paycheck didn't total to my rent and I had to leave before the landlord came hunting for my head with his bread knife." He sat down, grabbed a pear from a basket heaped with assorted fruits.

Ollie immediately grabbed the fruit and took a frustrated bite before Roy had the chance to take a bite from it. He tried not to smile when he saw his son glaring at him. Sensing that a macho brawl was imminent, Dinah suddenly intervened, walked between the two men.

"I guess I'll leave you guys to talk in private then." She took a stance between them, pluck the pear from Ollie's hand and tossed it into the basket. "But if the both of you can't handle the idea of the no-wrestling rule in my kitchen, I'll send you two flying out of here where you can tackle each other any way you want to." Before finally leaving them alone, she interrupted again, "I'll get the guest room ready by the way. You know where the towels are, don't you?" she asked Roy.

"Can never forget, thanks."

"Just remember that on my turf, sweet talk won't getting you anywhere," she said, winked at Roy before walking away.

"She's in an incredibly good mood today." Roy grabbed the pear, took a bite. "That's the first time she winked at me." Despite the fact that Dinah usually didn't mind him during his emergency visits to her suite, he grinned.

Ollie ignored him, asked, "Can't you stay with that girl you're currently dating… what's her name again? Michelle?"

"The last one was Sara. We broke up a week ago. She didn't appreciate me missing out on her get-together-college parties. Jeez, who still does that?"

"Obviously people like her." Ollie went to the cupboard and carried two glasses to the table. Pouring juice into them, he kept silent and wondered if Roy was ready to hear the startling babe news.

Roy didn't bother to look at Ollie's worried face. Instead, he strode to the fridge, looked for some leftovers. Sifting through the archaic packages, a few Chinese boxes, and a couple of canned beers, Roy asked, "Can't believe she lives off these. How does she survive with molded bread and Chinese leftovers alone while beating the crap out of bad guys during most part of the day?"

"Uh… Centrum…" Ollie gestured to the cupboard that sat to the fridge's right side. Roy swung it open, seemed to believe it when he saw the countless, over-the-counter drugs crammed together in the cupboard.

Blowing out an impressed whistle, Roy closed it, laughed. "Dinah's got one impressive bod…"

Ollie gave Roy the icy look, which ironically chilled Roy to the bone.

"I mean… it's cool that a single pill can make a difference for a butt-kicking heroine such as herself, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know." Ollie turned, returned the juice carton in the fridge. Without turning around, he said, "Drink up. I'll order us some pizza while you freshen up in the bathroom. Seeing that Dinah's not in the mood to kick you out, might as well feed you for now."

"Thanks. I owe you one."

As soon as Roy left the kitchen, Ollie stared at the fridge's pitiful, short stock of food. He grabbed a notepad from the drawer and scribbled a lengthy list of food supplies. Tomorrow was going to be a long shopping _spree_ for Oliver Green.

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_(A year later…)_

_He turned to his side and pressed the pillow to his ear. But no matter how hard he tried to ignore the baby's piercing cry that was alarming the mansion from the other room, it just wouldn't let him go back to sleep. _

_So he sat up and tried to wake Diana. But she wouldn't budge. She continued to snore lightly, dark wisps of hair screening her beautiful face. He thought of Alfred who was probably sleeping soundly in the other room as well. _

_Curse be to all sound sleepers. _

_Just when he thought of getting some deep sleep tonight, the baby had to think otherwise. He let out a weary sigh and numbly made his way out the door. Still ignoring its shrill wails, he headed straight to the kitchen and plucked out baby formula from the fridge. He had to remember to thank Alfred for always planning ahead. But somehow, in the deepest abyss of Bruce paranoid head, Alfred must have known all along that Bruce was the only one in the house who would instantly wake up to the slightest sound of a mouse. What more a crybaby? _

_Maybe he needed to take sleeping pills at a regular basis from now on. _

_Pouring the formula into a bottle, he hurried upstairs to the baby's room. As he moved quickly, he almost didn't realize that the house went still all of a sudden. Pacing to the room, he dropped the bottle when he saw a black figure leaning toward the crib. _

_He tried to lunge for the intruder, but he couldn't; his feet were stuck to the floor for some unknown reason. He shouted, but no sound came out. He then willed his weight to spring at the dark man who was ominously staring down at the baby but he simply couldn't move a muscle. He tried to call for Diana and Alfred, but they never came. _

_To his horror, the man dug out a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at the sleeping infant. Tears fell before he realized it and a shot echoed throughout the mansion. With a menacing look that would forever chill Bruce Wayne, the dark man grinned at him and waved him goodbye. _

_Blood oozed from the crib's white sheets. He tried to look away but couldn't. For the last time in his dreams, he would never forget the face that haunted him since that dreadful night. _

_The man who killed his parents—he could never forget that face. He could never forget it, even in his dreams; the image of his parents' murderer never once escaped him and it always had a way of marring the simple innocence of his dreams. _

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He woke up with a start. Sitting up, he reached for the lamp's switch. But before illuminating the room, he found himself hesitating when he saw Diana sleeping soundly beside him.

With the moon's light filtering through the barely curtained window, his eyes roamed her beautiful face. Without further thought, he touched her and smiled when she merely moaned and went back to undisturbed sleep. _Curse be to all sound sleepers._ He swung his legs off the bed, glanced at the clock.

4: 23 am.

If it wasn't a baby that woke him up, it was a damn nightmare that did the trick. But he couldn't care less about it right now. He strode to the armoire and dressed himself black for no particular reason.

"Going out?"

He whirled, faced a sleepy-eyed Diana. "Breakfast." He adjusted his cuffs, rubbed his chin. He thought of shaving later in the Watchtower. "You can sleep in if you want to. I can't go back to sleep."

"Another nightmare?"

Bruce was silent. With his back still facing her, he cleared his throat and fidgeted with his shirt's button. "I might not be able to join you in breakfast. I'll probably see you in the Watchtower at noon."

He was about to leave when Diana, suddenly alert, blocked his way to the door. "Bruce. You're being evasive again."

"I have a lot in mind." He admitted, perfunctorily rubbed her shoulders. "There's nothing to talk about."

"By Hera's name I swear you're lying." Diana leaned in. "Talk to me."

"Like I said, there's nothing to talk about." Irritation began to well up in his voice, but Diana willfully ignored it.

With her hands poised at her hips, Diana said, "You are a father," She overlooked the obvious twitch under his eye and continued, "And as much as you want this reality to zip by as fast and gone like the Batmobile, this is clearly not the case." Diana could see the hesitance in him. So she warmly framed his face in her hands. "If we want—if you want—this relationship to work out, the only solution is to talk… just… let it all out. Because at this rate, I feel like we're not getting anywhere. There's a gap between us, and I don't want that to triumph over something special we share."

Bruce understood her, but couldn't shake the fear that wrenched his gut. He lightly pushed her away, kissed her forehead before leaving her. "I'll see you later."

"Bruce—"

But he was already at the staircase and Diana knew that it was futile to chase after him. Leaning on the doorway, she gingerly touched her belly and whispered, "Men… makes me wonder why I put up with them." She looked down, smiled. "I wonder what would Mother think of you when she finds out about all this." She then closed her eyes and let the silence consume her.

Diana jumped at the sudden beep of her cell phone. Getting used to earth's modern gadgets, especially when it was for communicative purposes, took a lot of getting used to for a regal Amazon warrior such as herself. She quickly flipped the phone open, pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Diana? It's Shayera. Did I bother you?"

Hearing her colleague's voice somehow eased her worries away. It's been a long time since she actually found herself feeling relaxed as before when she and Shayera had been close prior to the Thanagarian invasion. Nevertheless, the curdling gap that took residence between them since the distrusting occurrence began to fade and Diana felt better about it.

Clearing her throat, she answered, "Are expecting mothers and mothers alike unable to sleep in anymore?"

"Once the incessant cries start coming in, we mothers become sirens of the night. Did I stir Father Grouch?"

"He actually stirred me with all his tossing and turning in bed. He's down having breakfast."

"Always so hard-working." When Shayera suddenly told Diana to wait a sec and began to talk in hushed tones while murmurs rose and fell in reply, Diana abruptly pressed the phone to her ear when she caught a giggle in the background.

"Shayera… do you have company there?"

"Me?" A pause. "No. No, of course not." Diana was stopped mid-sentence when Shayera suddenly blurted out, "Do you have any plans for today besides Justice League?"

Diana thought for a minute. "None so far, no. What's the matter?"

"I was only thinking of maybe… we could have some get-together time, considering that this… baby expectancy is your first time. You'll certainly want some support, won't you?"

"Shayera… are you concealing something from me?"

"_Pfft_." Shayera cleared her throat when she choked back a snicker. "No… of course not. Uh-oh… John's waking up. I'll see you later. Bye."

Diana gave the phone a weird look before putting it back on the table. Shayera was acting suspiciously strange and Diana was not one to act clueless or nonchalant about it. She quickly got dressed and climbed down the stairs and into the kitchen only to find Alfred frying eggs.

"Ah, you're up early as well." He flipped two eggs to the plate. "Care to have a quick breakfast before you teleport to the Watchtower?"

Diana, with an appreciative smile, accepted the offered plate, thanked Alfred. Although she was in a hurry, it was impossible not to miss any of Alfred's delicious food. "Don't tell me he wolfed down his breakfast in one gulp before leaving…"

Her spoon stopped an inch from her lips when Alfred replied, "As a matter of fact, yes. It did not suit him at all, made me gasp aloud when he gobbled everything in a single swallow. I say, did the both of you have a discussion early this morning? He seemed to be in an unanticipated haste."

Diana laid the fork on the plate's side, looked at Alfred straight in the eye. "I could barely sleep with all his groaning. I'm guessing he had _another_ nightmare. Concerned that I am, I asked him to tell me about it. Shift his anxiety to me once in a while. But his skull's thicker than concrete." After taking a bite of toast, Diana added, "No matter how hard I try to break through his icy barrier, he wouldn't let me in. Honestly Alfred, it's beginning to be such a chore talking to him already. Especially after telling him the baby news, he's impossible."

Alfred sat down beside her, patted her hand lovingly as a father would do to a daughter when a sermon about life was underway. "I once thought the same thing. Ever since his parents died, his perky wit just vanished. And though you may think that just because I have been in the Wayne estate for very long, that reason alone doesn't entitle me as Master Bruce's wholly entrusted confidant of intimate, emotional, psychological—personal matters. Sure, I know a lot about Master Bruce's habits and favored desserts, but whatever is going inside his mind is a mystery to me as it is the same to you." Alfred sipped his tea, sighed. "More often than not, I feel a pang of guilt and doubt about my raising him. But—"

"You know that you are not to blame for the traumatic effect that has befallen Bruce." Diana squeezed the old man's trembling hand. "You have done so much for Bruce—it's ludicrous for anyone to say that you have done little."

The butler gave Diana a smile. "I'm glad he has finally got the smart sense of keeping you."

Diana gingerly tapped her belly. "More importantly, will he want to keep the both of us?"

Without warning, Alfred shot up, his open hand slammed his chest. "If he attempts otherwise, I vow to you that I will squabble with the Master until he concedes. I will absolutely interfere Master Bruce's effort to push my future godson away if that may be the case. However, if I continue further on about fighting for you against the Master, it would only be futile. Master Bruce may be fearful of children, especially infants, but he would certainly not send a child, his child no less, away just like for a phobic reason. He may be unaccustomed to this "family" matter, but that does not imply that he would not try to be acquainted with it. Even though he does not utter a word, Master Bruce will never abandon you."

"Even before telling me all this," Diana rested her hand over Alfred's. "Deep down I know that Bruce will never leave us."

It took Diana more than an hour to finish her breakfast—after putting aside their assurance about Bruce's probable involvement in family modeling, Alfred excitedly told her not to worry about clothes because he would start knitting them that very afternoon. His enthusiasm was impossible to dissuade, and it was even more impossible for her to butt in and inform him that she needed to do something rather important before heading to the Watchtower. But praise be to Hera the phone rang before he had time to show her sketches he had drawn for the baby's attire. Getting to the phone, Alfred's eyebrows knitted in annoyance, and Diana took the opportunity to break free from Alfred's animated prattle by giving him an apology for taking leave.

Her hand was on the doorknob when she realized that she forgot where Shayera's address was. Diana thought of calling Shayera, but that would only alarm her winged friend that Diana was on to her. So she instantly thought of Shayera's closest ally in the Justice League: Wally.

With the Redhead's address set in mind, she flew in that direction without wasting another second.

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"Wally, you boob, don't hang it there!"

"Donna, you crass princess, must you always hurt my ego?" Wally swung the banner over the window. He ignored her and marveled at his own work. "Once D steps into the room, the words will just come at her…. Like bam… _whoosh!_ My skilled drawings will knock the breath out of her." He looked at his friends for a second and once again faced his artwork. "Congratulations to the Warrior Mother To be!" He leaned back, rubbed his chin. "Wonder if I should add a footnote that says, 'Warning: Apocalypse at Hand.' I think that would make her smile."

"Or she could drive you through the ceiling," Dick pulled the banner down. "In case you haven't noticed, Diana rarely uses the door. She flies." He pointed at the window. "Via there, duh…"

"Oh. So now you're the smart, calculative guy in this room." Wally raised his hands in mock surrender. "Right then. I guess I should just do nothing but stand and watch you guys paint the whole living room pink if it even matters." Wally frowned when they didn't take the bait. Huffing out a feigned, exasperated breath, he walked into his room, found Rex crawling to John, who was waiting for Rex to inch toward him. "I just don't get why we have to do it in my place. What's wrong with your place?"

"Because it wouldn't give us much time for a more elaborate preparation." John hugged Rex as soon as his son stumbled into his outstretched arms. "Didn't Shayera explain her theory to you six times already?"

"Doesn't matter how many times she explained it to me. But having you guys do all the work, throwing a very, very early baby shower in my apartment is just… off."

"If I recall right, you were once excited about this whole agenda." John slyly grinned at Wally. "Kicking you out of the decorating team didn't tally well, huh?"

Wally plopped on his bed. "Of course not. I'm just wondering if now's the right time to excite Diana, especially when old B is the least excited of us all combined."

"You haven't been listening to a word Shayera and Donna have been saying a while back, have you?"

"Uh… I think most of it was pretty much a blur… must be either the caffeine or the news that warped my brain cells. Why?"

"Pre-baby shower is what we're doing now. Just to make Diana's day because the last time I heard, Bruce almost died after hearing about the baby." John and Wally looked up when Shayera barged in all of a sudden. "Wally, we're hopeless without you. Care to clean up after us?"

"I'm quick, I know that already. But cleaning after your mess…"

"You added to that as well… paint smudges on the coffee table and disfigured paper dolls everywhere—Dick, Donna, and I aren't to be entirely blamed for the crap," Shayera said as she kissed Rex on the cheek. "Plus, after cleaning up, mind piling the food on the table? That would really help us a whole lot since Diana would be flying in any sec now."

Without further complaint, Wally sprinted out of the room, leaving Shayera and John exchanging pleased grins at each other.

"You sure know how to motivate the guy." John let Rex crawl to his mother. Shayera then plucked her son off the floor, gave him a slobbering kiss.

"It's easy to motivate Wally. He just wants some attention after Dick and Donna smart-mouthed him." After making funny faces in front of Rex, John asked, "Shall we prepare now before we miss the Princess' reaction?"

"You don't even need to remind me twice."

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To be continued…

So… what do you think? Good, yes? No? Why? Tell me!!

Since it's Christmas break, I'll most probably update the next chapter into two days' time.

Have a wonderful Christmas everybody… and Happy New Year (in advance!) Love y'all very much!


	6. Doubt and Acceptance

Hi people! I'm very sorry for updating this story too late that it no longer holds as much excitement and interest for most of you. I wholly take the blame. But like I said before, I do not stop in the middle of things—I finish it through the end. Besides, I myself am wondering how the story would end—depending on how "creative" I would be as I think this all through. But enough of my sorry ass begging for forgiveness and more reviews… getting down to business: thank you, thank y'all for your dear feedbacks. You people make this happen…

So ENJOY!

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"_Shayera… are you concealing something from me?"_

"_Pfft." Shayera cleared her throat when she choked back a snicker. "No… of course not. Uh-oh… John's waking up. I'll see you later. Bye." _

It took a moment for him to conclude that Shayera Hol was up to something. And that probably included her whole team of giddy fools—John was definitely in; Wally especially; Donna was recently in town… and who else closer to both Wally and Donna than his own son Dick—conspiring together to celebrate something that only wasted their precious time.

Bruce turned off the interception device, plugged out his Justice League receiver. He knew better than to tail Diana and ruin the party for her. As much as he wanted her to understand him, he knew that it would take a whole deal of effort to tell her everything… and that meant him actually disclosing all things and more about himself to her.

Feeling a migraine forming down his temples, he started the Batmobile and cruised along the beach. He activated autopilot mode, made the car invisible, and slipped into his casual clothes while the car drifted into a stop in front of the harbor's empty warehouse.

He left a voicemail in Mr. Terrific's communication center, saying that he was occupied with other things needing his immediate help.

Convinced that what he was about to do needed a great deal of strenuous work and dedication, Bruce parked the car in the building, made sure that the lock was secure once he was out. As he strolled down the dock, he checked himself in a boat's reflected window and adjusted his shades and cap.

The nightmare was not the only reason for jolting his nerves right now. It was the image of Diana's face that made him compelled to do something extraordinary for her… even for him.

He recollected her sad, calm face snoring quietly beside him. He knew that she was very hurt by his negligence of her needs, including the baby's. Bruce sighed as he crossed the busy road. She wasn't the only one suffering in this situation: he had to admit that he cared about Diana dearly. Seeing her upset made him less focused on his work. Plus, he was not ready to be a father… never was.

However, before knowing what he was getting himself into, he found himself approaching the crowding shopping district, immediately blending well with the crowd, glancing from one bright display window to the next.

Thinking about Diana and the baby, window-shopping alone was going to drain him out of existence if he didn't know any better than to ask Alfred to tag along. But maybe, since he was to be a father after all, this would give him some practice about what sort of places a growing boy or girl would more likely appreciate.

He remembered very well how his parents used to bring him to parks, carnivals, bookstores, and theatres. He enjoyed their outings, and suddenly recalled how he never treated Dick or his other kids to any fun trips besides roaming Gotham's deadly, traumatizing streets on a 24/7 basis. He felt his heart missing a beat as he realized how different he treated his children from how his own parents treated him.

As these series of thoughts occupied him every now and then, he usually put them off as soon as crime rose from time to time. As much as he wanted to change, it was simply hard to change the person he had become. Even if avoiding Diana and consequently hurting her were never intentional, he just couldn't help himself.

But as he strolled down the walking path and found himself staring at a beautifully handcrafted crib, he knew that he could change—little by little—if he did make the effort and motivation of doing so.

As he walked in and negotiated with the owner, he knew that Diana was right. He was merely afraid of trying to be a father because he lacked the desire and motive to be one. He was especially afraid that the Batman would never fulfill his promise to his parents if he dared try a normal life; yes, he was certainly most afraid of losing the person crime had created when all along the person whom his parents had molded was fading fast.

Alfred, Diana, Dick, and Barbara… all of them were right about his ultimate fear. Insane arch nemesis, serial killers, and the prospect of being alone forever never in the least scared him. Instead, allowing his inner self to take hold was his true fear. Because if he allowed that to happen, then many of his loved ones would only be in the way; thus, getting hurt—physically or emotionally or both—for being involved in his life was inevitable.

But then… either way, they still got hurt. No matter what he did—or did nothing at all—pain, regret, and heartbreak were bound to happen. What can he say, he was a walking curse dressed in black tights.

Nevertheless…

He smiled, thanked the shop owner for his time. Bruce walked out of the store, met the warm sunshine, and began making frequent stops to different stores.

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Flying to the window, Diana squinted into the darkness that was Wally's apartment's interior. She found nothing that held her interest. She made a quick call to Mr. Terrific and asked for the Flash's current whereabouts. She soon found out that Wally hadn't checked in: he made no calls or left no hints of his absence even though his shift had already clocked since dawn.

Suspicious and slightly worried, she slid open the unlocked window, which was odd, and stepped inside. She focused her adjusting eyes to a piece of paper hanging above the front door.

She inched closer, tried to read it when a burst of wind enveloped her, half-blinding her with shock and sudden force. Two seconds later, lights flashed before her wary eyes, her fighting stance ready for unexpected battle.

"Now, now. You don't have to get all gung ho on us just for throwing you a _pre-baby_ shower," Wally said as he perched a party hat atop Diana's head.

Dumbfounded, Diana simply stared at her friends' wide, eager faces. John held a squirming, drooling Rex in his arms, Shayera winked at her beside her husband, Dick and Wally had their arms around each other's shoulders, and Donna held out a seemingly pulsating, neon-pink… pudding (?) in her hands.

Donna walked to her sister, said sheepishly, "I made this for you. It's your favorite: strawberry cheesecake. I know it looks more like cotton candy topped with whipped cream—"

"Donna please! You're gonna make me hurl for the nth time already," Wally exclaimed teasingly.

She glared at Wally. The redhead back a few inches, snickered. Ignoring him, Donna continued, "As I was saying, don't worry about how disgusting it looks. It doesn't seem pleasant, I know, but this is my sixth—"

"Seventh!" Wally intervened.

"… Seventh try…" she said through gritted teeth. "But to my dismay, Wally didn't die or hurl after eating this one, so rest-assured it's not going to kill either you or your baby. Who knows though, Bruce might have an adverse reaction to it. He might die the next day if he takes a bite out of it. But as much as I want him dead, it's not designed to kill," Diana ended with a sly grin.

"Hey, even if I have issues with my old man, that doesn't mean that I want him to die a pitiful death," Dick teased.

"Yeah, well, I'm just making a point," Donna retorted.

Diana smiled, accepted the disastrous-looking dessert and kissed her sister on the cheek. "You don't have to worry yourself if I turn out dead from eating this because I'll make certain to escape from Lethe and haunt you out of the kitchen… for the rest of your life."

She laughed when Donna's cheeks turned pink. Diana then turned to Shayera and John. "You two shouldn't have." She turned around, acknowledged the rest. "Really. This is very nice of you to do so. But you do realize that we're missing our shifts."

"Come now, D. It wouldn't kill anyone if we don't show up for the day." Wally made an apologetic smile, wished he were able to take back those words after seeing the ironic expression of his friends. "I mean, what I meant to say was that you don't have to worry because it's not like we're neglecting our duties and everything. We're just taking a moment to enlighten one of our dearest friends' troubled days. And Diana," he held out a hand for her. "This is your lucky day. So please, make yourself comfortable. And if you're dying to get back to work, we're all the more ready to comply to whatever you want to do."

Wally gestured to Diana to sit down on the couch. Donna elbowed Wally's side. "Nice persuasion. Least expected it from you." Wally only gave her a proud nod, zipped to his room to get a few things for the gathering to be complete.

A bit reluctant, Diana followed Wally's order. She gingerly placed the cake on the coffee table before her. Donna instantly plopped beside her with a hastily gift-wrapped present sitting on her lap. She gave her sister a broad smile.

"For you, dear Sister. And to dear, dear Clementine."

"Clementine?" Diana asked with an arched brow. Shayera sat next to Diana, with Rex giggling in her embrace.

"Donna, what if the baby turns out to be a boy? I'm sure Clementine would just make "him" wish "he" were never born if you keep insisting on a name that may not suit the baby's gender." Rex suddenly burst in bubbly laughter, tugged at his mother's hair. Diana could have sworn that she turned green after seeing Rex drool all over Shayera's arms and legs.

"Well, you do have a point. Mmm… how about… Maximilian?"

"This isn't the 16th century, Donna." Dick complained.

"Well, he's entitled to greatness! If ever he's a boy, that is," she quickly added in the end.

"Yeah, entitled to greatness as a laughing stock of the century. Donna, why don't you try saying it out loud, see if it fits: Maximilian Wayne?"

"Mmm… yeah, we could always cut it short. Max Wayne. Better?"

"Gee, and I thought my parents picked the wrong name for me…" Dick grumbled.

"What? Max sounds far better than Dick, for your information… you DICKhead!"

Dick ignored that. He thought for a second before suggesting, "I'd say Harper's the perfect name. Gavin doesn't sound too bad either."

"Now those names sound like you're pairing the baby up with a pet dog. Now Wally is simple, cute, and always trendy wherever you go. It's perfect." Wally settled his present, along with Dick's, on Diana's lap. Sitting next to Donna, he then exclaimed, "Gift time!"

Noticing the silence emanating from Diana's awkward position, John gave Shayera a warning look. Shayera expressed their mutual concern, intervened. "Why don't we call it a day? I know, I know. This is uncalled for," she said, gave Wally, Dick, and Donna pleading looks. She could tell that Diana was relieved. "But Diana is right. We have our duties to fulfill. We can't just skip our shifts in the middle of the day without our conscience gnawing at our insides. We'll continue this some other time… I promise." She tenderly squeezed Diana's hand. Diana's pale face earned some color from this, beamed at her friend.

Dick also noticed Diana's wary eyes, abruptly stood up. "Yes, we're very sorry to make you feel uncomfortable," he stressed.

Donna chuckled. "You're not in the military force."

Dick blushed, teased, "Yeah, well, that's what you get from living with Bruce in the last ten years or so."

Pretending not to hear Dick's comeback, Diana thanked all of them. "But I'm sorry if I have to spoil the party. I guess I'm new to all this. I would need a lot of adjustment to get used to this. But since you are all willing to help me—that makes me feel a whole lot better."

With that said, Shayera and John, along with Rex, called Mr. Terrific to beam them up to headquarters. Donna, on the other hand, hugged her sister goodbye.

"I'll be back. I still have a whole lot to do back home before I can be free for a short vacation." She turned to Dick and Wally, said, "I'll miss you both. Take care of yourselves, ok?"

"You don't even have to remind me twice, Don." Wally gave her a thumbs-up, hugged her tightly. "Come back soon. It'll be like old times."

"I know." She returned the tight squeeze. Donna then hugged Dick, pressed her cheek against his neck. "Take care of her for me, will you?"

"I will." Donna lightly kissed him on the cheek, blushed. "See you two around." She nodded to her sister, and then flew out the window, gone for the moment. Diana turned to both men. "Coming, Wally?"

"In a bit, D. Need to clean the place up before Linda freaks after seeing the mess in here."

Diana chuckled when he implied the cheesecake tragedy sitting on the table. "I can help, you know."

"We know. But here, that's not for you to decide. Besides, aren't you just dying to get back to work… with Bruce in your line of sight?" Dick asked with a grin.

Knowing that she was better off not showing any suspicion of their ulterior motives evident in their eyes, she nodded, walked in the window's direction. "If you put it that way… I'll see you guys later then."

With Diana finally gone and heading to the Justice League headquarters in space, Dick said, "I'm going to check on Bruce. Give me a call when you're free?"

"Of course."

As Dick was heading out the door, Wally called out to him.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this? D didn't even take it with her."

"She saw your eyes, dude. She read "doom" in them." Dick laughed when he saw Wally's pale face. "I'm surprised you didn't die after eating all her deadly _experiments._

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up eating her deadly concoctions in the near future and die an early death."

Dick frowned as Wally threw the cake into the trash. "Dick, you're a doomed man."

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Sipping his coffee, Bruce browsed through _Cartier's_ watch collection that was printed in their personalized brochure. He was sick of standing in stores with bored attendants dying for the customer's attention even though it wasn't necessary. Many times did he also find himself being scrutinized in women and baby stores. He knew that he couldn't stay in one place longer than five minutes before people recognizing him. So he made sure to choose for the nice shops and take their catalogs with him.

He glanced at his watch, knew that he overstayed his visit. Three hours had passed and the only thing he managed to buy was a tiny, pink, frilly dress with a free pacifier included. He cursed silently. It looked like a great deal at that time. But now, just now, the realization hit him. What if the baby turned out to be a boy?

Nice. Very nice. He wearily rubbed his temples. Why was it that anything to do with this baby led him to many stupid decisions and situations? He was about to leave when a familiar voice acknowledged him from behind.

He strained his neck to see Oliver Queen standing with an armload of grocery bags.

"Nice to see a familiar face in a busy day such as this." Ollie nodded at the brochure in Bruce's hand. "Buying a watch, eh? For your girlfriend?"

"None of your business, Queen." Bruce said curtly. _Of all people…_ "Funny to see you shop that much groceries by yourself. Or maybe it's intended to go into _someone_ else's fridge?"

"I could tell you my reason, but I need a mutual exchange for that to happen." As Bruce was putting his brochure into a pink shopping bag, Queen asked, "Leaving so soon?"

"I've been here for a while. It's time for me to go." Bruce glanced at Ollie's face before looking away. He grew a bit curious about Ollie's bruised face, but that would only entail to more coffee, some chatting, and the probability of loose tongue. Besides, he had work to do. It was really time to hit the road.

_A while, eh?_ Even with his shades on, Ollie noticed Bruce's tired expression. "Want another cup of coffee?"

"I just had one."

"One more wouldn't hurt."

"No thanks."

Ollie read the shop's name on the bag. "Didn't know you have a kid." Bruce turned the bag, made sure the brand came face-to-face with his side and unseen by curious eyes.

"For my friend's kid. It's her birthday," Bruce lied nonchalantly.

"I see. That's cute."

"It is." Bruce tried to smile.

Oliver smirked. Bruce sure reminded him of someone similar. "Why don't we rich folks ever hang out like old friends?"

"That's because we're too busy competing against each other for fame and money to bother making real friends of our own."

"But we sure do look like old friends in parties, cameras, and papers." Ollie knew that he sounded like an idiot just now, but getting Wayne to talk could have already fried a thousand of his brain cells.

"That's called "for the show"." Starting to get annoyed, Bruce was making the move of walking away. "If I were you, I wouldn't stick around for coffee with all the shopping I have to get done by today." He then looked down, added, "You dropped something on the floor by the way."

When Bruce was gone, Ollie saw the ring's box lying next to his shoe. It must have slipped out of his pants' pocket. He opened it and checked if the ring was still tucked inside. To his relief, it was. After putting the box back into his pocket and making sure that it wouldn't fall out again, he tightened his hold around the bags and strolled in the direction of the shop's name printed on Wayne's bag.

Old friends, eh? Doesn't sound like you were buying for an old friend's kid though, Wayne…

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She tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear, breathed in a lungful of air, and made sure that no one was around. She knocked twice and waited.

Nothing.

She knocked again, this time harder than the last.

Still no one answered.

Diana whispered his alias. "Batman. Batman, " she repeated quite urgently, pursed her lips. It was odd that no one has seen him in the spatially located headquarters. She had also phoned headquarters on earth but the effort proved to be in vain as no one knew where he was.

Maybe his room had something that might point her to the right direction. Making sure that no one was scouting the hallway, she quickly typed in the Batman's five-digit code and snuck into his room once the doors slid open.

Standing in the dark, she switched on the lights. The utility belt was gone from its hanging post and so were several of his gadgets. Even though she hardly visited his sleeping quarters, she could feel his actual presence here. Unlike his bedroom in the manor, she could feel him, smell him, know that he felt more at home in the Justice League headquarters than be amidst his expensive art, plush carpeting, and delicate china.

Understanding now that she could never make him understand her feelings, she was on the verge of giving up. If Mother were here, Diana would have been scolded for losing hope and confidence. She would also berate herself if retreating were the only solution. But this was a different case. It was Bruce.

She shook her head.

No, it was the Batman. Bruce Wayne was gone. Ever since that fateful night… the Batman had been born from that tragedy. She had no right to change the man he had become. In fact, she was sure that his parents would have been proud to see the man in their son. She smiled to herself. The Batman indeed was a great man, a highly respected person, a loved superhero.

But he would never become a good father in this state. She remembered John and Shayera cuddling little Rex. If she were to leave Bruce to raise their child, it would make no difference whether or not he was there in the first place. As much as she wanted him to share every precious moment with their child, Bruce was simply not that type of person. He had always preferred to be alone. And she could do nothing but be shunned.

If you were a boy, I'd name you Bruce though.

Resigned, She walked to the door. When the doors suddenly slid open, the Batman was standing right in front of her. She gasped, took a sudden step back. Puzzled to find her in his room, he slipped inside, closed the doors.

"Diana, what are you doing here?" he asked in a whisper.

"I could ask you the similar question: what were you doing?" she followed suit in hushed tones.

He blinked, looked away. "I was busy."

_Busy. Now when do I not hear that?_ "All right, I get it. You love your privacy, and I respect that. I'm not going to push any further… not anymore," Diana hissed, strode to the door in haste.

Bruce detected frustration in her voice. "Diana… it's not what you think it is…"

"Then what? What was it that made you suddenly walk out of the bedroom in a sweat and until now left a lot of fellow leaguers in the dark? Tell me, Batman. Tell me what was so important, so top secret that not even I should know?"

Diana waited for him to reply. But he just looked down as if accepting an hour-long lecture from her. Seeing that waiting for an answer was futile, she sighed. "Goodbye, Bruce."

His heart leapt, his feet impulsively lunging forward, his hand grabbing hers. He didn't know what came over him, but he felt that if he didn't move, he would have lost her forever and missed the most precious person in his life.

"Wait. Please… don't leave." His voice was so soft, as if a little boy was pleading for his mother to stay with him in the dark bedroom. "I… need you."

She paused, and then smiled. "Bruce…" A tear fell. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me…"

Batman straightened, felt his cheeks grow warm. "Well, what I was trying to say was… that… I need to talk to you about something… important," he stuttered, which made Diana chuckle. "What? What's so funny?" he asked hastily.

"You just caught me by surprise." She hugged him, whispered in his ear. "I wasn't going to leave you, you know," she joked.

Bruce countered, "Sounded like you were about to."

Diana looked into his masked eyes, confessed, "Maybe I was… deep-down. I was thinking about it while _waiting_ for you. You didn't give me good reason to choose otherwise."

"Yes, well, I'm…" he stopped himself. Sighing, he mumbled, "Sorry."

Diana's eyes brightened. He acted unusual just now. She couldn't know exactly what made him this way but she could tell that he was beginning to open up. Could it be for the baby growing inside her?

"You'll always be forgiven in my heart… even though there were numerous times when I had the strong urge to throw you out the window, you have a way of complicating my emotions…"

Batman shrugged. "You're faced with a man who's complicated that's all."

"Tell me about it."

They were interrupted by a beeping sound. Both pressed their Justice League receivers to their ears. Their faces turned serious—not that the Batman needed to turn anymore serious—as they knew that they were needed. The couple walked in the door's direction.

"Where you headed?" Bruce asked.

"Busan, Korea. You?"

"Giza, Egypt." Rushing down the hallway, Bruce added, "Opposite ends of the world."

"Don't worry, Flash will keep you company."

"Is that your humor talking?" Batman asked in a stone-cold tone.

"No, it's a fact." Diana saw Flash zipping about the teleportation area. "Take care of him."

"I have enough in my head as is. He can fend for himself," Batman gruffly said as he made his way to Mr. Terrific.

"Waiting in line to Korea?" Dinah later asked Wonder Woman as she was making her way to the teleportation area. Wonder Woman nodded, kept her eyes fleetingly on the Batman. She glanced at Dinah. "Where's your charming knight in green spandex?"

Dinah merely shrugged. "He's taking a day off. Said he wasn't feeling well, so I let it go."

Diana nodded. "I hope he'll be well."

"Don't worry, he can handle worse stuff than a mere fever. But thanks," Dinah smiled, saw Diana eyeing something in the crowd. Dinah strained to see what caught the Amazon's eye but Diana instantly averted her attention to Shayera Hol.

"Hey, ladies. Ready to kick ass once again?" Shayera asked with glee lighting her emerald eyes.

"Always," Diana and Dinah said in unison.

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To be continued…

You like? No? Awww… tell me!!

Since it's my summer vacation now, I have plenty of time to update my chapters. So your reviews and patience are greatly appreciated. In addition, as all of you make this story happen, I love to hear your comments about Bruce and Diana's baby to be: **do you prefer a girl or a boy? Why? And if you were to choose, what name would you give him/ her?** Now, if I like any of your suggestions, I might just use it for this fic… as well as be forever indebted and grateful to you for being part of this. I love you people! Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as I enjoyed writing it! 


	7. Gossiping Heroes

_**Just as promised… here's the 7**__**th**__** chapter. I hope this one bears as much promise as expected. Thanks very much for your reviews and suggestions! All of them are overwhelmingly helpful but can prove to be quite the dilemma with all the names you've offered me. But I guess that's my punishment for asking it.**_

_**Oh yeah, before I forget, special thanks to Gotham's Princess and Lavender Gaia. Your critical comments are most helpful. My bad in changing Ollie's last name from Queen to Green—it was an honest mistake. Must have confused Green Arrow and Oliver Queen. But thanks so much for pointing that out. Also for the comment about the baby's health… thank you. That gave me second thoughts about the following chapters. **_

_**Still, to everyone who gave me feedback, I don't know how to thank you enough. Hopefully this chapter leaves you wanting more… **_

_**So here goes…**_

_**Enjoy! **_

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"You're late again, old man," Roy said with a lopsided grin. He eyed the plethora of shopping bags that Ollie had dropped on the ground. With an idle glance on his father, he took a slow sip from his coffee mug.

"Maybe if I had _crowbared_ your ass off the chair, you would have helped me with the shopping to speed things up, eh?" Ollie sat across his son, slurped from his cold drink. "Now. The keys to the jet," Ollie growled, his arm outstretched.

Roy tossed the keys from one hand to the other, slyly cocking his head to one side. "Don't tell me you flew to Gotham just to shop. Definitely wasting your time, old man—"

"Keep calling me _old man,_ I'd break your spine, dump permanent white paint on your hair, and make you drink an age conforming pill to make you grow warts and melanin in a day so that I could put you in a nursing home and laugh at you for the rest of my life." Ollie paused; let a wide smile dominate his expression after seeing Roy frown. "Now, care to help me with the bags?"

Roy let out a short laugh. "Harsh. Is that how you're gonna treat your child with the canary babe? Cuz if that's how you're treating the little thing, you might as well cart yourself to the nursing home, seeing that your grouchy self suits the place."

"You're an exception." Ollie started down the sidewalk with the bags heavy in both arms.

"Well, isn't the comforting?" Roy replied sarcastically. He carried the rest of the bags. As he was lifting one of the bags to go, a pink brochure fell to the floor. He dropped some of the bags and turned the brochure around to read its label. "_Daddy's Girl,_" he whispered as he read the shop's name.

"Roy!" Ollie exclaimed. "Let's go. You're making me impatient by the second."

Roy returned the brochure in the bag. As soon as he caught up with Ollie, he asked, "Did you buy anything interesting at _Daddy's Girl_?"

Ollie stared at him with a puzzled look. When it finally hit him, he retorted quickly, "Nothing that caught _my_ attention. I just looked around. Next thing I knew it, this attendant gave me their catalog."

"Right," Roy chirped in.

Father and son walked into an empty warehouse that was sitting in a decrepit lot. Making sure that no one was in sight, the duo unlocked the bolted door and crept in. Minutes later, a rumbling sound rang across the dead plot of land, and then silence had taken over once again.

Once tucked in the jet, Roy asked to be dropped off on one of Gotham's tallest towers. Ollie complied. Riding in silence, Roy suddenly asked, "Why'd you choose to come with me anyways? I could have flown your jet without you?"

"I don't want you scratching it."

"Oh c'mon, that happened _years_ ago. I learn from my mistakes."

"Hardly." Ollie deactivated the invisible mode.

"Fine. Name a mistake I've committed twice."

"I'm sorry to say that there's none…"

Roy sneered in pompous satisfaction. "Told you I could never make a mistake twice. Once I know that I've made a mistake, I learn from it and vow never to make that same one—"

"Actually, what I mean is that you can never commit it twice because you've made mistakes _more_ than twice." Ollie glanced at Roy, who reacted with a sullen look.

"Yeah? Well…" Roy clamped his mouth shut. After a pause, he said under his breath, "Flying's an exception in my erring ways."

"Not going to happen, Roy, so long as I'm flying this thing."

"Killjoy."

Ollie only shook his head exasperatedly. Changing the subject, Ollie then asked, "What are you planning to do in Gotham anyways? Shouldn't you be in Justice League right now?"

"I can ask you the exact same question," Roy countered. He then added, "But what's got me puzzled is why you'd rather buy your stuff in Gotham than in Star City."

"Cover up."

"Eh?"

"I'll be sticking out like a sore thumb if I lounge in Star City's malls for some time."

"Well, so is wearing eye masks when fighting criminals, especially when you know you're buff and blonde." Roy tried to conceal his snicker when Ollie glared at him.

But instead of retaliating with more sarcastic, jeering remarks, Ollie simply mumbled, "Touche."

When silence dominated once again, Roy gave his father a long, hard stare. "You saw someone familiar, didn't you?"

"If I did, why does it matter?"

A pause.

"Is he someone you'd know? Someone you'd want to initiate a few business deals with?" Roy asked.

"I've given up my company a long time ago."

"Not too long to start over." Roy leaned back in his seat. "Feels like you're thinking of going back into business just so you can earn some insurance for the prospect of bringing up a family."

When Ollie didn't say a word, Roy continued, "There are many rich dudes in Gotham. You'll probably want to be a stockholder of some companies here. You're probably thinking of buying some shares, eh? Seems to me that you're making personal initiatives of your own in different parts of the country. On the other hand, international stops aren't out of your reach either."

Silence ruled.

Roy sighed. "You're not telling me anything, aren't you?" A shrug. "Reminds me of the _good _'ol days…"

Ollie just smiled. "Promise me, no scratches?"

Roy immediately sat up as straight and stiff as a bullet. "You serious?"

"Park it carefully in the garage once you get home. Make sure the lock's engaged. I'll be in the headquarters if there are any problems, got it?" Ollie emphasized.

"Oh yes, sir, of course! Absolutely! Leave it to me, I'll treat it as my own baby!"

"That just worries me," Ollie thought to himself.

As the jet perched itself on a vacated roof, Ollie, already dressed as Green Arrow, warned Arsenal to be careful. With Arsenal swearing to protect it with his life, Mr. Terrific beamed Ollie up. And Arsenal was left to wait in the jet, amongst the shopping bags. _Now… where could my old pal Nightwing be hiding? _

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"Hey, ladies. Ready to kick ass once again?" Shayera asked with glee lighting her emerald eyes.

"_Always," Diana and Dinah uttered in unison. _

But before Diana could walk any further, Shayera, with an unnatural smile pasted on her face, excused herself and Diana, pulled Diana to a corner. Away from prying ears and eyes, she whispered, "Unfortunately, you're not fit to come with us. I was referring to Black Canary and Ice, who was standing behind you."

Diana frowned at Shayera. "Whatever do you mean? I am always fit for battle. Why, I'm an Amazon…"

"Yes, an Amazon warrior who's _pregnant_," Shayera interrupted her friend. Diana was silent for a minute, unwilling to look at her friend. "Oh, Diana," Shayera rubbed Diana's shoulders. "There's chemical contamination in where we're going. I can't let you or your baby be endangered. And I'm sure that Bruce, _wherever he is now,_ wouldn't want that either. You have to realize that you are pregnant," Shayera stopped to make certain that no one was listening. "Every move you make links directly to your baby's health. Sure, you're an Amazon, born with unparalleled strength and remarkable wit, but you're in a critical period right now, so I suggest that you take caution. Understood?"

Diana slowly nodded, gave her friend a hug. "You do what you have to do. I'll be right here, away from claw-wielding monsters and oil spills."

"All right. I'll see you in a bit." Shayera was making her way to where the others were lining up for teleportation when the Question appeared in front of her.

"Are you heading the team to Korea?" the faceless man asked.

"Yes," Shayera raised her eyebrow as if to recall her list of leaguers bound for the trip to Asia. "But you're not in my team."

"I know that, but if I heard correctly, there's a fatal chemical reaction occurring in the darkest, labyrinthine cities of South Korea, unsuspecting to the international public. That explains why many South Koreans have begun to migrate to other countries, to escape from the government's communist—hidden beneath a capitalist economy—schemes."

"See, Question, that's a conspiracy. What's happening right now is a chemical experiment gone wrong and innocent lives in danger," Shayera said with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Mmm… gone wrong. Huh… that's what they want you to think now. But the truth is… the contamination is a diversion from a possible mutation happening in a cosmetics factory that has been illegally testing on animals. I have been researching on that recently…"

Question fumbled in his coat's pocket. Scraps of paper flew out of his pocket as he searched frantically for the right one.

"Question, I have no time for your _conspiracies_. Right now, I have to save people from—"

"Found it! Yes… Ah, Black Canary," the Question stopped as Black Canary was stomping toward him. Relief instantly swept over him. "I need to discuss with you a few things about my findings."

Black Canary suddenly pulled Q away from the infuriated crowd. Unseen by other members of the Justice League, Dinah asked, "What are you doing wasting our time? You're not helping at all." Dinah was about to leave when Q caught her by the hand.

"Actually, you are unable to save anyone in your condition." Dinah, dumbfounded by his choice of words, only looked at him. Q then continued, "I'm taking your place. I just needed you to get away from the crowd, through the use of my infuriating methods, to allay suspicion."

Turning pale, Dinah asked, "Did Helena tell you—?"

"Yes, and she also told me to keep an eye on you and make sure that no serious mission would come your way. Now," the Question adjusted his hat. "If you could rest here, allow me to further investigate the South Koreans' illegal, cosmetics experiments on animals, which may have caused a massive mutation to occur, thus purporting to the sudden rise of emigration in the country. Plus, I'd have to make a good excuse of our puzzling switch of missions. Mmm…"

Still speechless, Dinah merely stared at Q's retreating form. And then, without realizing it, she broke out in a laughing fit. _Oh Helena, you and your eccentric 'baby doll'… _

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"What is this, an aero-pantry?" Nightwing asked when he saw the contents of the jet.

Arsenal popped open a port bottle, extracted two glasses from the jet's kitchen area. "I'm only the sidekick, how should I know that Green Arrow's a natural domestic god?"

"What's this?" Dick asked, rummaging through the bags. "Baby grub? A bib? Pacifier? Diapers! Columbian coffee?" Nightwing narrowed his eyes. "He's having a baby?"

"Correction, his girlfriend's having one. But yea, you were close." Pouring wine into a glass, Arsenal offered it to Nightwing. "Here, a toast to every single man out there."

"At least he's packed up and ready for a serious wake up call," Nightwing muttered while taking a sip of the expensive wine.

"You were saying something?" Arsenal asked airily.

"Nothing." Dick said as the duo later stared down at the busy streets below. "I hear you're homeless."

"I hear Donna came to visit," Arsenal replied.

Both men sighed, and then said in unison. "Wally."

Arsenal suddenly stood up, checked the jet's cooling system. When he came back, he answered Dick's questioning look, "The man bought some ice cream. I had to check if the interior was cool enough to give us frostbite if we sit in there for too long."

"You must've brought a parka with you then? Earmuffs perhaps?" Nightwing asked teasingly.

"I'll worry about that later," Arsenal downed the rest of his wine. "So, you and Donna, huh?"

"Yea, we're good friends…"

"Good. That's good. But you know what can be great?'

"Arsenal…"

"… Is if you two would earn the guts to hook up!"

"Now's not the time to talk about that!" Dick took a swig from his glass, poured more wine.

"Oh yea, then when?"

"When we're good and ready."

"You said that months ago. Time's running out."

"I think I still have time to ponder." Dick poured more wine after finishing four more glasses. "I should get me one of these… how much is one?" Nightwing's lids were beginning to feel heavy. He yawned.

After Arsenal told him the price, Nightwing suddenly downed the whole bottle. "Man, it's been a while since I had wine this geeewd…"

"Dude, you're drunk," Arsenal took the empty bottle from Nightwing's grasp.

"Dohna and meeeee… we tight… tight az two birdz ina flok…"

"Wow, you're blushing like mad." Arsenal grinned. "Not to mention as drunk as a skunk."

"Yep… we good mates… Princez Dohna… sher perty… you have to admit…"

"Uh… sure let's go with that," Arsenal helped Nightwing to his feet. "Okay, I think I have to drop you off… only problem is, I need a parka after all. Oh man, Dad's gonna kill me."

"Myn tooooo…" Nightwing slurred. "Screeeeewd Dyana goooood… Dohna's waazzz pizd like kraaaazy…"

"Say that again? Dy… Diana's pregnant?" Arsenal asked, wide-eyed.

"Yeeeep…"

"Well I'll be… you can't be serious."

But Nightwing was already snoring loudly in Arsenal's arms.

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Diana walked into the living room, found Alfred sewing a tiny sock from a pale blue yarn. The butler instantly dropped everything and stood up when he heard Diana approach him. She shook her head, gestured to him to sit back down. But the old man was adamant.

"You're early. Dinner is still simmering," Alfred glanced at his watch, put it against his ear to make sure that it was still functional and ticking.

"I know." Diana sat down, turned the TV on. "But Justice League needs someone who can take out felons anytime, anywhere, and at able condition. Unfortunately, the baby's health may be jeopardized if I'm not careful." She began surfing channels at top speed without pause.

"Princess…"

"It's Diana. Just Diana. D-I-A-N-A. Get it right, will you?" She felt like slapping herself after saying that. She immediately turned to face Alfred. "I didn't intend to snap at you." She stood when Alfred walked away.

"Alfred…"

She was about to follow the butler when Alfred materialized with an ancient, yellowed box in his hands. "I couldn't blame you for feeling stressed or irritated with me for my old habits. Especially so if the Justice League does not have the time and effort to lock away a furious, expecting Amazon, I know just the thing to take your mind off your very demanding life."

"What is it?" Wonder Woman stared at the square box that was filmed with dust and what looked like mold moving with life.

"Alfred, don't tell me you've been experimenting on dust bunnies yet again."

"Nonsense! Ah! Remind me next time to take some of Master Bruce's smoke bombs. They work remarkably well against ghastly molds and dust… bunnies." Alfred's cheeks pinked a little. He then brushed off the dust glued to the box. He gingerly opened it.

Diana looked in, gasped. "These are…"

"Yes, I know—"

"Bruce's baby pictures!" Diana laughed out loud when she saw a butt-naked four-year old Bruce in a tub. "Alfred! You are an angel!"

She kissed him on the cheek and chuckled at the old, brittle photos.

Alfred was laughing with her as they looked at Bruce smiling with one tooth sprouted in the front; another showed a bald Bruce with his chubby arms outstretched to the cameraman; there was a crying Bruce falling to the ground from a swing; a frightened Bruce running for dear life from a clown; a sleeping Bruce with his stuffed bear next to him; and a beautiful picture of Bruce and his family.

They all looked so happy and normal. As if no tragedy was capable of breaking the joy found in their faces. Young Bruce was sitting on his mother's lap, whereas his father was leaning against the armchair with one hand on his stunning wife's shoulder. Diana looked at Alfred.

"May I keep this?"

Alfred nodded. "You can keep all of them. He never asks for them anyways."

They rummaged through more photos until Alfred went out of the room to check on the food. It was quarter to seven and Diana had already seen all of the photos. She arranged the pictures and carried the box with her as she climbed up the stairs. She wasn't sure when Bruce was coming back, or if he even planned to come home for supper, but she knew that she was famished. She decided to get ready for dinner.

She reached the bedroom, placed the photo box on the table. Thinking that putting the box in plain sight was out of the question, she hid it in a drawer. It wasn't a big deal, but for Bruce, as long as it concerned the past, she had to take extra precaution. She combed back her hair and was heading to the bathroom when she found the dresser half open.

Curious, Diana looked in and a pink bag with the name "_Daddy's Girl"_ fell as she pulled the door open. She picked up a pacifier that rolled out of the bag. She examined it. A tingling feeling washed over her.

Bruce… bought this?

"_Hera_, this must be an illusion. How could he?" Diana asked herself. _Why would he?_

And she looked into the bag. She couldn't help but stare at the tiny pink dress. Her mind went blank, dark, and useless at the given moment. The dress was the most adorable thing she ever saw. Her jaw was hanging open but she didn't have the remaining strength to close it. She shook her head.

Hades must be playing with her head. She looked from left to right as if expecting the ruler of the underworld to appear. But her hopes were in vain. _Hera._

"That's the last time I'm working with Wally. If I didn't tell him to shut up, people would've heard hi—" Bruce stopped in surprise as he was slipping off his mask. His eyes shifted from Diana's stunned position to the little thing in her hands.

"Oh no."

Diana turned to face him. "Bruce…"

"This day had to get worse."

"This is just too cute." Diana held the dress up, pressed it against her belly. "When did you buy this?"

He didn't answer her, crashed on the bed instead.

Without warning, Alfred's head popped through the door. "Prin—Diana. Dinner's ready…?" He went speechless, stuttered when he saw Bruce's agony and Diana's glee. "Why, that dress… whose is it?"

"The child's, of course!" Diana sat next to Bruce, patted his knee. "Bruce bought it. Seeing your shocked expression and his crestfallen, _embarrassed_ face proves that he bought it." She held up the dress again. "What do you think?"

"Master Bruce… how kind of you, sir," Alfred examined the dress closely. "Very nice, suits a little girl. Do you have one for a boy possibly?"

Diana checked the empty bag, shook her head. "There's nothing else in here other than a pacifier…"

Alfred beamed. _"Daddy's Girl…_ one of the best shops I've found myself in. Your mother used to—uh…"

Taking opportunity of the sudden pause, Bruce stood up and stiffly walked to the door. "Dinner. Starving. Diana." When Bruce was out of their sight, Diana and Alfred heard Bruce mutter down the hall, "Christ, can't even say a complete sentence these days. What the hell's wrong with me!"

When the two were alone, Diana and Alfred grinned at one another. Diana then said, "He wants a girl." She smoothed the dress. "I have to say that this is a delightful-looking dress. I've never had the chance to wear this sort of clothing in my early years though."

Alfred smiled. "Indeed, the dress looks gorgeous. But I think that he bought it by mistake. I daresay that the Master can't think straight lately. He even comes home early for once." Alfred turned to leave. "This change is rather refreshing."

Diana folded the dress carefully and returned it into the bag. She found Alfred waiting for her by the door. "By the way, I didn't hear Master Bruce come in through the clock or door."

"Can you expect anything less from him despite his baby jitters?"

"Actually, I think I'm getting old fast," the old butler remarked while rubbing his balding scalp.

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To be continued…

**Thanks so much for all your support and suggestions. Again, I appreciate them and love them. But enough of boring you all with my endless chatter, the next chapter is a fast forward look into Bruce and Diana's life as expecting parents. Well, maybe six months' peek into the future. And by this time, Diana is thinking of telling her mother about the baby, seeing that the bump is as subtle as a giant mallet. Maybe a grand baby shower will be held in Themyscira, or will Diana be discriminated by her mother and people again? Find out on the next one… **

_**By the way… YOU LIKE? NO? HUMOR ME! I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! XD**_


	8. Revelations

**Hi, everyone! I am so sorry if I took forever to update this fic. College is such a killer, but I hope you understand. It's my summer vacation now so I have all the time to update (and hopefully finish) this story. Of course, suggestions, critiques, and some encouragement are always, always well-received. Hope you guys like this one.**

**Enjoy!**

**P.S. this chapter doesn't follow what I had earlier planned, so apologies once again, people!**

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_Six months later..._

Bruce swore that Alfred's kitchen was going to suffer imminently from an explosion of his fatal cookery. Diana agreed that she would help him with egg-throwing. The couple, mute and severely shocked, stared at the documentary clip of a pregnant woman screaming her eyes off while giving birth; the doctor urged her to push harder, while the poor woman with a face the shade of a bursting tomato glared at him, dug her nails into her husband's shaking hands in painful rage; the nurses in the background imitated the pregnant woman's laborious breathing as if doing so would give them a mind-blowing epiphany of her predicament; then came the doctor's excited yelp of the baby's inching emergence. A dark, red fluid emerged from the woman's private area. Bruce's face turned a darker shade of green. Justice League's call was very much welcome at any moment now…

Suddenly, the call came. Mr. Terrific's low voice was that of an angel's. Bruce's hand swiftly pressed the comlink deeper into his ear, as to distract his already-corrupt ears from the wails of the howling woman on the TV. He gruffly agreed to work, said that he'd rather drive to the headquarters. Driving would occupy him from playing over the ghastly image in his head. When the connection was over, Diana turned to Bruce and tried to smile. Disgusted helplessness was etched all over her face. Since she had asked for leave of absence from Justice League months ago, it was obvious that she was going to be subjected to the film's crippling torture for the rest of the night… alone.

Bruce stiffly touched her hand as if to reassure her, though he could need some comfort himself after watching the burn-worthy footage. Diana smiled, returned the gesture. "Go on. I'll turn it off soon. I'm a bit tired anyways." Before making her way to the TV screen and hitting pause, Bruce pulled Diana into an embrace, kissed her. He was gentle, afraid to press Diana's growing bump hard against him. Caught by the fiery passion ignited within, Bruce momentarily forgot the pregnant woman's flushed face and saw only Diana's, her icy-blue eyes looking at him with reciprocal hunger for more. But then, the woman's harrowing shriek from the booming speakers broke their contact. And they watched the newborn baby come sliding into the doctor's hands, covered with bodily fluids and blood. Lots of blood.

It took Bruce less than five minutes to get changed and tell Mr. Terrific that traffic was bad and teleportation the best alternative. Diana finally turned off the theatre system and left the living room, all the while stroking her baby-bump to calm her nerves. She strolled into the kitchen, knowing that the source of tonight's nightmare was cooking up something special for tomorrow's supper.

"Alfred," Diana uttered his name sweetly.

The butler looked up with a smile. "Need anything?" Since Diana prohibited him from addressing her formally, Alfred admitted defeat and chose not to call her by her name, afraid that "Madam" or "Princess" might come slipping out of his noble tongue.

"Are you trying to scare Bruce out of his wits? You do know that he's afraid of being a father, and showing him how it actually happens… well, it's not helping at all," Diana nearly choked at her own words. It was also her first time seeing how humans give birth. After all, she was only made out of clay with her mother's breath giving her life.

Alfred tried his best not to laugh when remembering the reaction of Bruce and Diana gawking at the screen just moments after the baby's head appeared. The image was priceless. Or, it could just be the lighting from the telly giving off a weird lighting on their faces. He could have sworn that their faces were the exact color of healthy vegetation. But he could be wrong. Still, he was glad that he managed not to laugh out loud while walking out of the room unnoticed.

He put down the knife he was holding and walked to Diana, apologizing to the regal figure in front of him. "I apologize. It must have been one of the most horrendous images you have encountered, but it is one of the best preparations you need—for the both of you—to get ready for the first step of having a child."

"And that's to watch a clip of giving birth? Alfred," Diana shook her head, as if the old butler were ridiculing her. "I know how humans give birth. It's excruciating and long, to the point that those poor women wish their husbands dead. That much I know, Alfred. I don't need a live demo of what pregnant women go through. It's… it's frightening as is."

Alfred nodded his head, showing his understanding. He made a low bow in apology. "But it's only natural for you to feel frightened. Just the idea of raising a child scares a lot of people. Often, having a child brings a lot of struggle along the way, but you don't see parents fleeing from those challenges now, do you?" He paused to see how Diana was gauging his words. "I'm not saying that the two of you are running away from it. Rather, since the both of you have decided to face this together, it's better for you to understand what having a child is going to be like when it actually happens, especially with the both of you clueless of it in the first place."

"It's like I'm preparing for war then," Diana said, sounding more enthusiastic by the prospect of doing battle than having a child.

Alfred chuckled under his breath. "Or, an anatomical scrutiny of humans giving birth… which reminds me," The butler smoothened his balding head with his gloved hand. "The two of you missed the best part of the film."

She looked questioningly at him. "There's a _good_ part?"

Alfred beamed at her knowingly. "You didn't see the mother's face when she saw her child for the first time."

Slightly taken aback, Diana stared at Alfred. She didn't know what to say to that. All she ever knew about giving birth was that it was painfully long. She heard about it, read about it, but never actually understood how a mother struggled to give her child a chance to live. Those women fought so hard during those long hours—amidst the pain, the screams, the morphine—just to give life to a child they have fallen in love with the minute sperm and egg united and became a miracle.

Diana now understood Alfred's point. His intention was not to frighten them, but to let them see both sides of the wonderful picture that they are to draw together. Not that she and Bruce didn't already know that what lay ahead of them would be ridden with hardships. Instead, Alfred also wanted them to see the brief but unforgettable joy of that moment. He wanted them, when the time came, to live that moment.

In other words, starting a family meant taking the first steps into reality. It was like walking into a different realm that still flabbergasted Diana and, another life that Bruce had always avoided. Alfred merely wanted them to realize (once again) that nothing in the world is black-and-white; whether it was about taking care of babies or fighting bad guys, both share the fundamental principle that despite the presence of evil, something good eventually comes out of it. Sure, Bruce and Diana may be aware that having a family would be difficult, but at the same time they should also expect moments when nothing in the superhero world could make them any happier.

The princess hugged Alfred, kissed his cheek. "You're a sly godsend. Bruce is very lucky to have you by his side."

"The same can be said of you, _Princess_ Diana."

She didn't know whether it was intentional or not, but Diana let it go. She would have to make fun of him next time.

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"_Breathe in and breathe out. That's right. Keep at it; you're doing great, Princess Diana." I lift my head to hear where the voice is coming from. Right between my legs is a masked man gazing at my sensitive area as if it were a fine specimen intended for a scientific experiment. I feel so embarrassed, allowing a man to look at the most vulnerable spot in my body. I was never prepared for this. The textbooks of ancient royalty have never prepared me for what is going to be a beginning of a future that still remains a blur._

_Pain shoots through my body, a sharp pain that crawls through me. I've never felt pain like this before. It courses through me, like I'm about to be burst open by sweltering agony. Sweat films my entire body and I look from my right to left in search of the only one that could relieve the constant throbbing in my body. _

_Instead, I see my sisters with their armor and spears glaring at me. They look livid and ashamed of what I'm doing, of what I'm about to do, of bringing a child into this world through corrupt procreation. They badger me but I couldn't hear what they're saying. I'm just utterly shocked at the sight of them. I can't find Bruce or Alfred anywhere. I am even hoping that Shayera and Wally are amongst the angry mouths that scold me. I can't fight or say anything, as I'm confused of my helpless state. _

_Then, I hear her voice booming in my ears, a voice that reverberates within me, a voice threatening to crush my bones. _

_I look up, and replacing the masked doctor a moment ago is my mother. Her gleaming sword in her hand, she tells me, "Once again, you disappoint me. I can no longer look at you as my daughter, for you have wrought such pestilence into my life, into the world."_

"_Mother, what—?"Her life? The world? What in Hera's name is she talking about?_

"_You have no right to speak to me, you foul miscreant!" _

_I'm speechless. I'm being punished for having a baby? Is it because I had it with a man from the outside world? Is it because I'm about to start a family with him?_

"_That immoral seed of yours must die!"_

"_NO! Mother please, no!" I sit up but my sisters push me down. Despite my attempt to stop the baby from coming out (by holding in my breath), I hear a baby's wail in the distance… and then, a last, cut-short cry echoes through the room. I could feel blood trickling on my thigh, my legs. My sisters disappear and I can't sense my mother's presence anymore. I'm afraid to look, afraid to face my fear. _

_I close my eyes and will this to be just a nightmare. Maybe when I open my eyes, it'll be just a dream. Yes, that's right. Just a horrible nightmare playing with my head. _

_I open my eyes and there glaring right above me is my mother's crazed blue eyes. Her sword is poised right above my neck. Trails of blood line her face, her beautiful, flaxen hair, her hands. For the first time ever, my mother terrifies me._

"_Mother…?" It sounded more like a squeak. My dignity is gone. _

"_Die!"_

_I watch the blade come down fast… swish! _

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"Diana, Diana! Wake up!"

"Don't touch me!" Diana, with eyes closed shut, fought and scrambled out of bed, away from the unknown hands that startled her. She opened her eyes and saw Bruce massaging his bruised face, cupping his bleeding nose.

"Bruce! What happened to you?" She ran towards him, her hands gingerly touching the bluish shade already coloring his cheeks.

"If this is how it's going to be, then I'll be sleeping in the living room for the next few months. Ow, shit!" Bruce winced, as his nose felt like it shattered to pieces. He didn't move, afraid that the pain would spread across his face. But catching a glimpse of Diana's hands—not because of what she did to him during her sleep—shaking, he ignored the pain throbbing along his nose and asked, "Had a bad dream?"

He watched her eyes tearing but he chose to wait. She opened her mouth, then closed it right after. She sniffed her nose and sighed. "Bruce," she started, then stopped. "I… I'm scared of what…" A pause. "I'm scared of what my mother would think of this."

Bruce stood up and walked up to her, wrapped his arms around her. They stayed quiet for a few minutes. Diana could feel blood dripping down her shoulders but she didn't care. It felt so good feeling Bruce's warmth surrounding her, his aura encompassing her whole being. She couldn't complain if he stained her dress; his presence was all she needed. Sweet, superficial words would only aggravate the situation. And Bruce knew better than to calm her with words of shallow assurance. He understood where she came from and respected that. He didn't want to create an illusion for her, an illusion that only insinuated unrealistic possibilities. Bruce's embrace promised the thing that she needed the most: his support through her ordeal.

"Sorry," he moved away, hurried to the bathroom. Diana followed him, watched him as he washed off the bloody smear on his face. He grimaced when he saw blood on his white shirt. "Alfred's going to throw a fit once he sees this." But after saying that, his face lightened all of a sudden, as if changing his mind. "Alfred IS going to throw a fit once he sees this. Though, this is nothing compared to what he did…" Bruce's voice trailed off and he resumed patching up his nose with an antiseptic cream and bandage. He looked at Diana's reflection in the mirror and saw her smiling at him.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Diana hugged him from behind. "Oh nothing." She didn't move, but listened to his heartbeat faintly throbbing against her ear, felt his hard muscles slowly relaxing against her. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Nothing much, but I'd still like to make sure that Gotham's not ransacked by stray miscreants." He gingerly patted his face dry with a towel. "Why do you ask?" he asked quite tentatively. Playing dumb grew to come in handy when conversing with a pregnant woman, especially with raging hormones that could actually kill with one blow. Women were unpredictably dangerous, that was what he'd concluded after being with different women throughout the most part of his life. And Diana was no different from unpredictability. Well, maybe not as erratic as Selina, but still… pregnant women were prone to violent paroxysms, and Bruce was the last person who'd want to face an angry, pregnant Amazon princess.

"I see," Diana loosened her grip, thought about her words carefully in her head. And then she asked, "What do you say about taking a stroll in the park?" She suddenly let go of him. "I mean… that is, if you have the time, of course. I understand if you're too busy for a walk."

"Diana…"

"I completely understand that the welfare of the people should always be first priority." She suddenly felt like a moody princess all over again, only now she has the rationality to know better than to kick and slam the door in someone's face. Years ago, as the young princess, when things didn't go as planned, she would flare up, sulk, and starve herself overnight, while her mother smartly ignored her ridiculous tantrum. At least she didn't drive a spear through any of the soldiers. But just when she thought that she had outgrown it, she couldn't help feeling disappointed and slightly irritated that her expectations might not be met. Although she wasn't throwing a childish outburst at the moment, she still felt like going through puberty. She could feel Bruce staring at her with those devilishly sharp eyes. She sighed. She hated the fact that her emotions were spiraling out of control, to the point that she became a bloated open book.

"A walk in the park sounds good to me," Bruce told her. He could see her face brightening. But he could also tell that guilt gnawed at her.

He held her hand, kissed it. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that John's got my back." He caressed her face, said, "You look surprised, Princess."

_Princess._

Diana laughed, suddenly moved into him for a kiss but instead hit his nose with hers. Bruce cussed in agony while blood drenched his hand yet again. Though Diana was frantically helping him stop the blood from flowing, she was feeling giddy inside. It was the first time Bruce had taken time off from Justice League. He used to always _remind_ her of the fragility of people's lives, and that keeping constant guard over people's lives hardly left superheroes the indulgence of free time. She agreed that what he believed in was quite true, but at the same time, it was just wrong. There was simply no harm in finding time to lead their own lives; and unlike her, Bruce's lifetime was half of hers. Maybe even a quarter. He needed to get out and live life to the fullest, for Hera's sake! And to her relief, looking at him now, she could tell that he was trying to readjust to her, to her needs and wants. He was becoming more _human_—an alarming yet wonderful evolution.

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"Hmmm… this is so good," Helena was munching down her steak, her knife mercilessly cutting through tender, juicy meat. Dinah stared down at her own plate of food. A salad. A boring bowl of greens with lemon vinaigrette, tomatoes, and walnuts. She could feel a pool of saliva swirling in her mouth just waiting to burst out. She imagined that her salad tasted like beef; the tomatoes like mashed potatoes, the vinaigrette like steak sauce.

"You want some?" Helena offered between chews.

_No, thank you. I'd like to kill you instead._ "No, thanks. I still have salmon coming."

"Pshaw! You're being boring. There's no harm in one bite out of a piece of cow. C'mon, Ollie's not going to kill you for having one, two bites of yummy meat. Have some," she cut a piece for Dinah.

When Dinah didn't budge, Helena rolled her eyes and took Dinah's salad bowl.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing—?"

"Here," Helena replaced Dinah's salad with her entrée. "Indulge yourself once in a while. There really is no harm in eating one piece of steak for the duration of your pregnancy." When she saw Dinah's hungry yet hesitant face, she blew out an irritated sigh. "Really, one piece of steak isn't going to kill the baby. Depriving yourself, on the contrary, might kill you. But my point is," Helena had a mouthful of salad. "Red meat is rich in iron and protein. It's not all that bad. So please, whatever garbage it is you're reading that prohibits you from eating actual food, give it to me and I'll gladly burn it for you."

Dinah laughed, took a bite of steak. It has been almost six months without eating any beef, pork, or chicken, and this single bite nearly gave her an orgasm. "Oh my gawd, this is so good."

Helena smiled. "My thoughts exactly."

"But I'm not finishing it. I still ordered a salmon."

"Don't worry about it. We'll switch. I need to start eating healthy anyways."

Dinah stopped chewing. "What else did you order besides the steak?"

"Oh, um… just dessert. Glazed chocolate cake. Did you get anything else?"

"Yeah, a bowl of fruits."

"Wow… Don't tell me you're following the path of enlightenment or something. Tell me when nirvana's just a mile away."

Dinah playfully kicked Helena's foot under the table. "Shut up. It's not like I'm enjoying this. Besides," Dinah paused to savor the butter-glazed potato. "I have a few months left till I chuck this stupid diet. But you just had to ruin it."

"If you die the next day, I promise to go on a vegan diet."

"I'm not going on a vegan diet. I'm just eating good, healthy food."

"Okay, right. Sorry for misunderstanding. It's just that your cheekbones are so striking, looks to me they can slice through butter." Helena dodged Dinah's kick under the table. A waiter arrived with the salmon. Helena pointed to her side of the table. "Thanks. Oh, and can you cancel the fruits and add another chocolate cake to the tab? That would be great, thanks."

When the waiter left, Dinah finally kicked Helena's shin.

"OW! Dammit, what did you do that for?!" Helena rubbed her shin, glared at her blonde friend.

"I didn't say anything about canceling my fruits," Dinah hissed when Helena's yell prompted heads to turn in their direction. She was about to wave the waiter to come back when Helena countered, "Just for today screw your diet and enjoy your food. You think I don't see you staring at me with saliva cascading down the side of your mouth when I'm eating my food? Dinah, just for today… stop making me look like a pig."

Dinah chuckled, admitted defeat with an amused sigh. "Oh you, the things you make me do." She watched in amusement as Helena took a bite out of the salmon. "Well?"

"Hmm… it's okay. But not as juicy as my steak."

"Wanna switch?"

"Nah… I'm satisfied with this one… for now."

"Yeah, well if you end up having kids, you'll have to make a lot of sacrifices… like maintaining a healthy diet, leaving the League for a few months, keep your cool when your lover is constantly not around, go shopping for big-sized clothes, learn how to knit until you realize that you sewed half your finger in the fabric, try not to breathe down Ollie's neck once he comes home…"

Helena gaped at her friend. "You sewed half your finger in the fabric?! Damn… You must be terrible."

Dinah scowled at her. "Like you can do better."

"For your information, I've been sewing Q's boxers during my free time. I also managed to knit a scarf for him last Christmas. He likes it a lot." Helena was beaming with pride. "It's not hard at all. All it takes is patience… and a lot of spare time. I'm sure you have loads of the latter."

Dinah scoffed at the comment. "And patience is one of your virtues?"

"Sure, when it comes to knitting. It soothes my nerves."

"Uh-huh, okay." Dinah was trying to imagine Helena sitting in a rocking chair and sewing a pair of boxers. "You're hardly the Mary Poppins type, gotta say."

Helena rolled her eyes for dramatic effect. "I am hardly the Mary Poppins type. Is it that hard to believe that I like knitting?"

"Yea—"

"That was a rhetorical question. Q couldn't even believe it at first. He thought I bought it from Macy's or some other store." Helena moved her plate aside. "Just because I used to dream of killing that bastard Mandragora doesn't mean that I don't have a softer side."

Dinah smiled. "Yeah, you're right. But still… it's just so weird…"

"Okay then. Why don't I teach you how to knit?"

"No, I've had enough of that, thank you." Dinah grimaced at the memory of screaming, blood, the rush to the emergency room, Ollie fainting…

"C'mon, don't tell me you're not the least bit interested. Somehow you wanted to know how to knit but you just gave up along the way after sewing your finger. The trauma's gonna wear out, don't worry. And I'm willing to help you out." When Helena didn't see any disapproval in Dinah's eyes, she continued, "So what do you say about getting together sometime this week so I can teach you how?"

Dinah leaned her chin on her hand, narrowed her eyes at Helena. "Okay then. But I already warned you." They thanked the waiter for clearing their plates. Helena reminded him of their desserts. After he left, Dinah added, "We'll just see how far your patience will go by then."

"You know I love a challenge."

"Then this Saturday noon? Does two sound good to you?"

Helena nodded. "I'll being my equipment."

Dinah stifled a laugh. "Okay, okay. Saturday it is."

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It was a beautiful day outside. They sky was clear, the wind occasionally propagated the scent of flowers around the area, looming trees created a canopy to block the sun's rays, and pigeons helped themselves with generous scraps of bread.

Bruce, with his shades on, watched Diana breathe in the air with a look of content drawn on her face. She strolled ahead of him, as if she wanted to explore her surroundings on her own for the first time, as if she were a caged bird set free. She suddenly stopped and gazed up at the trees' branches. Through the gaps between gnarled limbs she could faintly see the sun shining down on her and, she could imagine Helios watching her with majestic intensity.

Bruce tried not to stare at her. Diana's attire was simple. And yet, it couldn't stop Bruce from ogling at her. She wore a white summer dress that concealed her baby-bump pretty well; her wide-brimmed hat covered her face almost entirely from nosy passers-by; and her flip-flops gave her a look of both chic and comfort. Basically, Diana looked as if she were going for a stroll in the beach, not the park. But no matter what she looked like, she was beautiful.

Bruce, on the other hand, wore his usual dress shirt and pants. The only additions to his custom attire were his shades and baseball cap. He glanced up to find Diana waiting for him a few feet away. He quickened his pace and soon closed the gap between them. She didn't say anything but held out her hand. He gave his and they strolled together hand in hand.

It was just a normal day in the park. There was a family playing fetch with their dog in the open area; an old man tossing breadcrumbs on the ground; two lovers lip-locking in the middle of the walkway; and what caught Diana's eye were a grandmother and her granddaughter having a picnic on one of the benches. She stopped and watched them talking animatedly to one another; the granddaughter always with the questions, the grandmother always with the answers. Sensing that they were being watched, the grandmother looked up. She waved in Diana's direction, believing that no threat would come from a beautiful couple. Diana waved back and slowly resumed walking, pulling Bruce in her wake.

After a moment of silence, Bruce asked, "What was that about?"

"Nothing much. I just thought that… that they looked cute together." Diana remained quiet for a while. Watching people of all walks of life congregate in nature's solitude, away from their demanding workload and bustling city, gave Diana a feeling of nostalgia. She furtively eyed Bruce and saw his calm façade. Yet, there was a hint of ease in the way he moved. And his hands… she could feel his warm hands roaming to her back, slowly moving down, down, down…

"Pervert," Diana hissed when she felt his hand at the base of her spine.

Bruce smirked at her, slipped his hand into hers. "Just teasing. You were staring off into space again. Mind telling me about it?"

They stopped at the foot of a miniature bridge overlooking a rivulet. _This is no ordinary park._ Diana let go of Bruce's hand, walked to the middle of the structure and leaned on the railing. Bruce followed her and stood beside her.

"You're thinking of your mother, aren't you?" Bruce guessed.

"Yes, Mother… Themyscira. I honestly don't know what to tell Mother especially. Will she be devastated? Furious? Happy? I don't know, Bruce," Diana covered her face in defeat. "It's driving me crazy."

"In other words, it's time to introduce me to your mother."

"Bruce," Diana said in a weak voice. It was surprising to hear her sound so unsure of herself. "I…"

"Diana," Bruce took her hands and held onto them firmly. "It's okay. I know I've not been the most aspiring gentleman towards you. And this is the first time I've ever felt unsure about myself and the future. But, after realizing that I'm having a child with you makes me want to try even harder. You know that I have so much to learn as a father… but I'm willing to try." Bruce stopped to catch his breath. He then continued, "I have to be honest though. Facing your mother makes me more nervous than encountering the Joker."

Diana retorted, "Same here."

Bruce felt his jaw fall. "Some reassurance would have been nice."

Diana bit her lip, tried not to laugh. "Sorry, it's just the nightmare I had last night… it still scares me." She shuddered just thinking about it. "It's the first time I've felt terrified by the prospect of seeing her."

Bruce sighed. _God kill me now for what I'm about to say_. "Don't worry, we're in this together." When he saw her smile, he almost told her never to repeat his exact words to anybody, including herself. It was the cheesiest line he had ever told anybody. God, how he wished that he could hit a nerve in her bone and make her forget his words.

"Okay," Diana suddenly felt buoyant and excited. "We'll leave for Themyscira tomorrow."

"So soon?"

"Of course." Diana started walking off. "We have to… before I change my mind."

"I think I've already changed mine," Bruce murmured under his breath.

"Hmmm?"

"Ah… joy."

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"Women… you can never know what goes in their heads most of the time," Ollie said, his arms crossed over his chest.

"As long as she doesn't force you to marry her, you're good," Vic said, adjusting his fedora hat.

Ollie gave him a queer look. "What makes you say that?" By the time he asked that out loud, Ollie regretted it. _Here it comes, another conspiracy theory. _

Ollie wondered why he agreed to go shopping with Dinah even when she mentioned that Helena was coming along. So long as Helena was around, especially during Q's day off, Q was bound to be tagging along. Well, it looked like Q was duped as well, but Ollie believed that he was the main victim here. So, while the girls were out splurging on only God-knows-what, the men were left to sit at a café and chat as if they were best buds from the beginning.

As if they had anything in common, Ollie thought to himself.

But who knows? If Ollie _did_ end up marrying Dinah, Q could be the first in line as best man. Ollie watched Vic mumble something to the magazine he was reading. _Like hell._

Ollie left out a deep sigh. Marriage. Family. Commitment. Was he ready for it? He had to admit that he felt entirely at fault for making Dinah angry with him as of late. When given the chance, he'd make up an excuse and stay at Justice League headquarters for a longer stretch of time than necessary. Of course, that only led to Dinah becoming more anxious and suspicious of him. But facing Dinah constantly reminded him of the family issue. Maybe he was running away from it. Maybe he was scared of it. Either way, he still felt remorse gnawing at him after seeing her with sad, angry eyes. He never felt the same way with his past relationships though. Somehow, Dinah was just… she just made him feel uneasy and insecure of himself.

"Women… they're just as deceitful as men sleeping around with whores," Vic suddenly interrupted his thoughts. "Once a couple gets married, problems are likely to arise (_sweet_ love never lasts), and then the both of them end up not talking to each other for weeks, months; soon enough one of them decides on a separation or divorce" Vic paused, and then continued, "Or, to avoid any hassle with papers and the court, the couple decides to live under the same roof regardless of the failed marriage. During the husband's business trips, the woman invites one of the delivery boys into her home and sleeps with him, all the while thinking that their child doesn't suspect a thing; but in actuality the child knows about it, hates his mother especially for it, and has thus vowed never to marry for as long as he lived," Vic said with heated venom in his voice.

Ollie stared at Vic, shocked and bemused. Could it be that Vic was referring to his own childhood? And Ollie had always thought that the reason Vic stayed away from women (before Helena) was because he was plain weird or gay.

"Sage…"

"Of course, Queen, I'm sure you're not that type of man? The type that gets sick waking up with the same woman every morning? The type that wants lascivious thrill in his life? The type that double-crosses?" Vic asked with feigned innocence. Ollie knew that Vic was well aware of his wild past with women. Even Dinah believed that she was just a trivial affair for him. But… for some reason, it was different for her. Ollie knew that Vic was testing him. It unnerved him and yet… none of his friends (or sons) was ever this direct.

"Dinah's different. I…" He stopped. What was he doing? Vic was hardly a friend, much less a confidant in his personal affairs. Dinah could be using Vic to ask this sort of question, to test his loyalty. This was stupid. Why did he have to answer to this whacko guy whose relationship with people was just as warped as his conspiracies? And yet, for the first time, Vic was the first person who had ever implied the notion of marriage or living together or family.

Screw conspiracy!

"I love Dinah," Ollie blurted out. He could feel his cheeks reddening. Somehow saying it out loud was just embarrassing. He couldn't even say it in Dinah's face. Why on earth did he just relay his feelings to a stranger? _Crap!_ But still… it felt good letting it out, as if he'd been shouldering a burden all along.

"Ollie?"

He saw her, her eyes brimming with tears, her smile giving away the fact that she heard what he had said. Looking at her, he couldn't feel angry at Vic. Just her smile blew his doubts away, and for the first time he didn't regret saying it.

"Dinah," Ollie stood up, opened his arms to take her in as she sped towards him.

"Well, I guess we'll be off then," Helena approached Vic, wrapped her arm around his. He helped her with a few of her bags.

It didn't matter whether Dinah told Vic to grill him or not. It was the first time seeing Dinah smile in weeks, maybe months, and that made the _effort_ worthwhile. Perhaps, a small thank-you wouldn't be ludicrous. He glanced back to look over his shoulder when he heard Helena ask, "… what did you tell him? Dinah and I were just stunned when…"

Ollie was dumbstruck. So, it was never Dinah's ploy to get him blurting out those sappy three-letter words? _Oh…_ He looked back again and for a second their eyes met. He swore he saw a smirk cross Vic's poker face.

"Ollie? What's wrong?" Dinah asked, looked at him questioningly.

"Mmm… nothing. Just experiencing another mind-blowing revelation." Vic Sage, a.k.a. The Question, actually _helped_ him… with his relationship?! _I've really hit rock-bottom._

"What?"

Ollie kissed her. "Don't worry about it. Really, it's nothing."

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"Are you serious?" John asked incredulously. "For how long?"

Bruce tried not to grimace at the sight of drool sliding down Rex's bubbly mouth. Like witnessing the outcome of a volcanic eruption, drool seemed to have dried over the front of Green Lantern's suit; the toxic fluid looked as if it had already sipped into the uniform.

"Babies aren't allowed here, John," Bruce said, forgetting John's earlier question.

"I know, but Shayera and I couldn't find a babysitter at the moment, so we snuck him in," John adjusted Rex in his arms. "By the way, could you hand me that bag?" John pointed at the sports bag wedged under the computer console. Bruce pulled the bag out of its hiding place and was about to hand it over when John interrupted him.

"Actually, my hands are full. Mind giving me the towel instead? It's in the bag," John said.

Bruce did as he was told and was about to hand over the towel when he saw John's sadistic grin. Bruce realized what John was implying; he felt like sprinting out of the room but he wouldn't get another chance to ask John to cover for him while he was in Themyscira. He sighed and tentatively nodded his head.

"Thanks, Bruce. Now," John suddenly turned serious. "Be gentle. Just relax. It wouldn't even take me more than a minute to change."

The Batman quietly nodded. When Rex was deposited in his arms, the two of them shared a long stare. Just when Bruce braced himself for an attack of the Banshee's twin, Rex was giggling, to his surprise. John laughed, amused. He could tell that Bruce was a bit more accepting than last time.

"See? He likes you," John said, stripping out of his suit. "He must've still remembered you from the time you sang to him."

Immobilized, Bruce didn't know what to do. Rex was patting his chest playfully, his spittle spraying all over the place. "John, his mouth's like a broken pipeline. You should have him checked." Bruce was serious.

John bellowed in laughter. "That's a good one," John said after catching his breath. When Bruce gave him a puzzled look, John bit his tongue from grinning. "Well, it's normal for babies to drool. It's kind of like how dogs need to drool to cool themselves. But it really depends on the baby. Rex is a natural fountain of youth. Other babies have their own specialization of annoying their parents. So… don't think too much about it. Who knows, yours might be a born bat."

"A bat?"

"Sure, it can fly and terrify. Kind of like a mix between you and Diana." John stuffed his soiled suit in the bag. He chuckled. "That's lame, I know. But my point is, just accept your child for who he/ she is. You've already done that…"

"Not since birth."

"So? You've loved all of them. You've brought them up as if they were your own." John took Rex from Bruce. "Look, don't agonize over the baby issue." John made a face at Rex. He then added, "Fatherhood comes naturally to us; you'll know what to do when the time comes." John paused, thought about what he was about to say. "Oh, and about you taking leave, I've got it covered. Just let me know when you're coming back."

"Thanks, John." The Batman walked out of the room without another word.

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**To be continued…**

**You like? No? Humor me! Let me know what you think! :)**

**Note: I know that I mentioned in the previous chapter that this would be about Diana meeting her mother and sisters in Themyscira, but I'm sorry to say that that's for the next one as you might have already guessed. Sorry about that. I hope you understand. Once again, thanks for reading this; your support is ever welcome.**


	9. Divine Blessing

**Man, it's been too long, and I'm really sorry for not writing the next chapter at faster, more regular intervals. I'm dying of my own shame here, pleading to you, my dear readers, to forgive my hopeless apologies. So to make up for it, I extended this chapter, making it much longer and hopefully just as enjoyable, or even better, as the last. **

**Once again, thank you so very much for your endless support. **

**Enjoy!**

"Have a safe trip," Alfred said. The old butler repeatedly clucked his tongue as he eyed the bags tucked away at the back of the jet. "You do have everything with you, Master Bruce?"

"Yes, Alfred. We have everything. Including the sleeping bags and mini-stove you suggested we bring with us." When Alfred narrowed his eyes, Bruce smiled. "I'm kidding. Don't worry too much. I'm sure the Queen wouldn't ban us to the woods," Bruce said almost half-heartedly, a forced smile drawn on his face. "Of course, if she did want us to leave, we'd fly back right away before she changes her mind and sends arrows flying our way." Bruce patted Alfred's back, jumped into the jet.

Diana, already positioned in the seat behind Bruce's, waved Alfred goodbye. "We'll be back as soon as we can. I'll send a dove to let you know when we'll be coming back exactly."

Alfred nodded, grinned. "There's no rush. Say hello to your mother for me."

"I will."

The engine instantly roared to life, and soon enough they were taking off into the blue sky. Diana shielded her eyes from the blinding light, and as soon as her eyes adjusted to the sky's brightness, she only had to ogle at the white, puffy clouds floating amidst them to feel herself livening bit by bit. She had almost forgotten what it felt like being in air. Closing the distance between her and the astral wonders had always made her feel lighthearted and revived, like a missing piece of herself was found. She had the urge to open the door and stick her head out to let the breeze slap her face. Staying on land for three months straight was nerve-racking, and flying was what she needed to calm her agitated nerves.

But she didn't want to trouble Bruce. He was already nervous at the prospect of meeting her mother. She didn't want to aggravate the situation any more by making him watch her—with a growing belly and swollen ankles—flying beside the jet. So she blew out a sigh and sat back quietly. Diana could soon feel boredom creeping on her, like an invisible force oppressing her with its unwanted presence.

"Should we play a game?" Bruce suddenly said when the silence became awkward.

"What kind of game?"

"When I was a kid, my father and I used to play the name game. One of us would start saying a letter, say 'T' for example, and we'd utter words that we see along the road which start with the letter 'T'. How about it?"

Diana scanned from left to right. Clouds. Sky. Bird. Sun. Oooh! At least there were two words that had the same first letter. Perhaps she should give it a try.

"Okay. You start," Diana said.

"C. Cloud."

Diana thought for a moment. _Does 'another cloud' count?_ But that wouldn't be original. She wanted to beat Bruce at his game. "Cosmos."

Bruce chuckled. "Concrete."

Diana looked down below. _Ah, good one._ "Curb."

"Cars."

"Cables."

"Cosmopolitan area."

Diana glanced up and saw Bruce's reflection looking at the ground. But she had nothing to worry as long as Bruce was behind the wheel.

"Cat."

Bruce turned around to look at Diana. "What, you have honing vision now?"

Diana pointed at the speck of "orange" spot on the road. "Who knows, that could be a cat."

"Or a very big orange." Bruce said sarcastically. He hit autopilot and suggested the letter 'B'.

Diana began with the word, "Building."

"Birds."

Diana looked up and saw a flock of birds flying south. "Lucky…" She paused, then continued, "Billboard."

"Bags."

"_Bat-jet_."

Bruce shifted in his seat. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"You skipping your turn? I can say it if you want me to," Diana said playfully.

"No, stating the obvious takes out the fun in the game." Bruce placed a hand on the bat symbol engraved on one of the control buttons. "This game is clearly not made for air travel."

Diana unfastened her seatbelt, stood up, and planted a kiss on Bruce's cheek. "I thought it was fun. It was my first time playing a travel game."

"Yeah, it's one of those games you play when you're on the road. Helps ease the boredom."

Diana sat back again, thought for a minute before suggesting another game. A kind of game that required much more serious thought. "Now would be a good time to play the name-the-baby game."

Bruce was silent. Then he said, "I thought that this sort of thing is for later. Shortly before the birth perhaps?"

"Well, there's nothing wrong with thinking of baby names during pregnancy." Diana played with her fingers, gathered the strength to say more. "I just think that it would be nice to talk about what names you would want for our child."

Bruce pursed his lips, sighed. "If it were a boy, I think Thomas sounds nice."

Diana smiled knowingly. "After your father?" She saw him nod.

"Yes, Thomas does sound nice," Diana agreed when Bruce didn't say another word.

After a moment's silence, Bruce asked, "And for a girl? What would you like to name her?"

Diana laid a hand on her belly, let her muse roam freely. "What about… Sophia? Helen? Alexandra? Roxanne…?" Diana sighed in mild frustration. "I can think of so many beautiful names, it's just so hard to decide which one I like best."

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure that when the time comes, you'd know what name will suit her… or him," Bruce said to reassure her.

"Yes, I don't know what has happened to me lately, but I've become a worrywart. It's very troublesome."

"You have no idea."

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"There she is!" Diana exclaimed, pointing to the strip of land anchored in the middle of the sea. Bruce steered the jet to the shoreline, prepared for landing. Diana saw that everything seemed to be as she had left it—pristine, beautiful, home. She was finally home. It had been what… six months since she last seen her mother and sisters. It felt like their time apart lasted more than that, like a lifetime. She never felt this emotional before, but here she was feeling like a child about to meet her mother after a decade of no encounter.

Just before the jet's wheels met solid ground, a group of ferocious soldiers encircled the vehicle. Bruce disengaged the lock, and Diana instantly poked her head out. A sign of peace. The guards all of a sudden dropped their spears and armors and knelt before Diana, feeling sorry and stupid for baring their teeth at their princess. Bruce stayed where he was seated, afraid to steal Diana's limelight. Soon, horse hooves thundered in the distance, and Diana saw her mother coming to meet her.

"Mother!" Diana called out. She smoothed her dress, made sure that the bump was not visible, and gingerly stepped out of the jet. Her mother ran up to Diana and was about to crash into her daughter when Diana held out her arms and stopped the Queen from coming any closer than an arm's length.

Dumbfounded, Queen Hippolyta gawked at her daughter's surprising behavior. "Diana… what's the meaning of this?"

"I missed you too, mother," Diana quickly pecked her mother's cheek, avoiding coming into contact with her own mother. "Where's Donna?"

Bruce felt like his heart was about to break his chest. For a second there he thought that Diana was really going to slam into the queen. He wiped off the sweat beads forming on his forehead. Close call. Suddenly, furtive footsteps called him back to reality. He looked down and saw a few Amazon warriors approaching his jet. Amazons were quick and resilient warriors after all. At the first sight of him, even before Diana could explain, they would have pierced a spear right through him. He had to be prepared for the worst. He grabbed one of his smoke bombs just in case and knelt further down behind his seat, waiting for any one of those Amazons to be caught off guard before making a move, for better or for worse.

He waited, but he sensed no one sneaking into his aircraft. He furtively looked through the window and was met with mischievous blue eyes. "Oh, fuck!" Bruce instantly dropped one of the smoke bombs, thus engulfing him in thick, asphyxiating fog. He quickly covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, leapt out of the jet, and landed on the sandy floor.

Bruce heard a familiar laugh roaring near him. He sighed.

"That… was… golden! A camera moment, wouldn't you agree, Di?" Donna watched with amusement at Bruce, who was glaring at her.

Bruce wiped his teary eyes, cleared his throat. He could hear Diana quickly explaining to her sisters that he was with her. Queen Hippolyta, recognizing him as one of her daughter's friends, nodded to her warriors to let their guard down. They did so, but still with a suspicious air hovering above them. Diana was quick to Bruce's side, laid a hand on his cheek.

"You all right?" Diana asked.

Bruce coughed, wheezed in a hoarse whisper, "Yea…"

Again, Donna howled triumphantly. "Ha! Who's the sloth now?"

"Actually, you need more work with the sneak-attack," Bruce countered. "I still managed to sense your presence even when you were creeping up on me in mid-air."

Donna glowered at him. "Yea? Well, I surprised you. That's all that matters."

"And yet you got smoke in your eyes."

Donna looked away, dodged the obvious detail of her red eyes and snot dripping from her nose. "You're an eyesore, that's why," she muttered under her breath. After saying so, Donna took off.

The queen approached Bruce and Diana, assured Bruce not to worry about Donna's tantrums. Then she asked, "What brings you here? It is rather unusual for a _male_ friend of Diana's to come to our island. Is something amiss in your world that we should be aware of?"

Bruce and Diana exchanged glances. Diana said, "We need to talk… in private."

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"I think you need to sit down." Diana told her mother, gestured to the seat next to the bed. Bruce inspected the room they were in. It was the first time he had been in Diana's old chambers, and for some reason he was scrutinizing every nook and cranny with extra care. The room was rather plain for royalty's taste—very neat and simple. But the room was extremely spacious. There was a queen-sized bed with a canopy in the far corner of the room; a desk right next to it; a few tapestries adorning the stone walls; and a closet the size of his bedroom. He wondered how Diana felt when she had to sleep in a room that's the same size as her wardrobe.

"Diana, darling, why on earth are we in your room? If this is an important matter, there is nothing wrong with congregating in the council room." Queen Hippolyta gracefully crossed her right leg over her left, looked at Bruce and Diana with a puzzled, wary look.

"Mother… it is more of a personal matter, that's why." Diana held her shaking hands together. Just looking at her mother's cool eyes made her whole body freeze. Her tongue grew thick and heavy in her mouth, and for the first time since she heard the baby news, tears welled up. Bruce saw her, comforted her with a hug.

And that's when Queen Hippolyta understood. No wonder Diana was acting strange the last time she came for a visit. Not to mention that Diana seemed to be wearing a dress that was twice as large as she was. Diana was about to speak when Queen Hippolyta shook her head and ran to her daughter. Bruce took a few steps back to give them space.

"Oh Diana, you should have told me earlier. I would have prepared something for you… for your visit. Like a grand shower or any of the sort." The queen wiped her daughter's tears.

"You're not angry or disappointed with me?"

"Why would I be?" Queen Hippolyta kissed her daughter's forehead. "What makes you happy, makes me happy." After another embrace, Hippolyta asked, "How long are you in for?"

"Six months."

Six months! Oh, that fast already?" Hippolyta stroked Diana's bump lovingly. She then glanced up and asked, "So you're the father?"

Bruce nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Queen Hippolyta nodded in assent. She whispered to Diana, "He is quite attractive. One of your colleagues?"

Diana answered, "Yes. His name is Bruce Wayne. We _work_ together."

"I see…" Hippolyta paused for a moment, then turned to Bruce, "Would you mind if I have a word with my daughter?"

"Not at all." Bruce made a quick bow in their direction and left the room.

When they were finally alone, Hippolyta caressed Diana's cheek, said, "You've gained weight."

"Mother!"

"Which is only natural for an expectant mother. I was the same way when I was pregnant with you." Hippolyta took Diana's hands, pulled Diana to sit beside her on the foot of the bed. "But I'm just concerned, will you be all right? He is human after all."

"I have already thought about that, Mother. And," Diana reassuringly laid a hand on her mother's. "I love Bruce. I want to share my life with him. Even if his existence is shorter than mine, I still want to make the most of my time with him. And this child of ours is a blessing from the gods. I feel like the gods are telling me to take a chance, to live a life I've never dreamed of… It's going to be hard, I know. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to be with Bruce. Even though it'll seem like time is not on my side, I believe that whether our time together is short or not, I would still want to be with Bruce. I want to live every moment with him. Not one day passes when I don't think of Bruce or our child. Bruce… he's… the man I love. The man I'll always love." Diana could feel her face warming. She had to look away.

Queen Hippolyta simply nodded, brushed Diana's hair aside. "Even though time is taking away the people whom we care about against our will, the gods, Diana, will continue to watch over you and your loved ones. I am sure that the gods, as well as I, are on your side despite whatever may happen in the future."

Diana nodded. She knew what her mother was implying. Before leaving, she was expected to pay a visit to her divine friends. It's been almost a decade since she last saw either Artemis or Aphrodite. But more importantly, she had to pay her respects to Hera. Getting to meet with Artemis and Aphrodite was rather easy. All she needed to do was find the golden stag to lure Artemis; and find Aphrodite's nymphean servants bathing by the lake at a specific time of the day. Diana smiled inwardly. This was going to be quite the adventure after so long. It reminded her of her younger years, back when she was still rather flippant and naïve about the vast world around her.

Hera, on the other hand, entailed quite the obstacle for her. Unless she got Hermes to help her, it would be like asking the queen of England to meet with an ordinary citizen out in the open. Diana blew out a sigh, stood up. "I need to see them."

"Diana," Hippolyta took hold of Diana's hand. "Before you do anything, you need some rest. You look tired. You need to rest before you meet with the gods. You would not want them to worry in the least, now would you?"

Diana shook her head, sat back down. Hippolyta then continued, "Maybe… your friend would want to rest as well in one of the vacant chambers?"

"He can stay with me, Mother."

"All right."

"Oh, and mother," Diana called out. "Why do you not call him by his name? Do you not approve of him?"

"Whatever do you mean? Of course I approve of him. If I had not, I would have told him to leave. It is just…" A short pause. "How should I address him? He is certainly no commoner."

"Bruce is fine." Diana grinned. She stood up and accompanied her mother to the door. "You can go back to your chambers. I will handle him."

When they looked out and saw no sign of Bruce, Hippolyta suggested, "Did he take a tour around the palace?"

"That cannot be good."

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"What the hell are you doing in here?! Here! Of all places!" Bruce yelled, running for his life as arrows were flying in every direction. He, followed by Dick, sprinted into a room that was previously attacked. They hid behind an overturned table, its surface shielding them from the torrent of arrows, spears, and swords. At that instant, he tore his shirt's sleeve, wrapped it around Dick's bleeding arm.

"It's a good thing it just grazed you."

Tired from running, Dick blew out a sigh. "I didn't know you were in the island. You should have called me."

"Why? So I'd let you come along with us? You know it's a private matter between Diana and me. You have nothing to do with this."

"You're not hearing me out. I'm only here for Donna." Dick and Bruce ducked lower as another arrow wheezed right above them.

"We have to make a run for it." Bruce looked to his right and saw an open entryway a few feet away from where they were sitting. He held onto the table legs and started pulling the table in that direction; it blocked the oncoming arrows from skewering them. "Dick! Help me!" Dick did as he was told. Bruce threw a few more smoke bombs at the warriors.

Just when they made it in front of the entrance, another group of warriors was waiting for them, ready to attack. Bruce and Dick grabbed a few upturned chairs and threw them at the warriors to buy some time. Momentarily distracted, one of the soldiers' hold of the sword grew limp. Bruce saw that as an opportunity and kicked her hand. Dick yelled for Bruce to duck, and an arrow came shooting the guard in the arm. Bruce grabbed the dropped sword and sparred with the other soldiers. Dick continued to hurl smoke bombs in the direction of the other soldiers attacking from the other side of the room. He held onto a broken chair and stood up with his back to Bruce, dodging arrows coming at them.

"Stop! Stop fighting right now!" Diana yelled at the sight of the warring spectacle. How did this come about? Didn't she already tell the guards that Bruce was a friend? Didn't her mother tell them the same thing as well? And what on Hera's name was Dick doing here?

Reluctant, a few of the soldiers let their arms fall to their sides. Others were still maintaining a fighting stance. One of them was about to speak up when Queen Hippolyta came right behind Diana and ordered the guards to stand down. After the whole lot of them finally calmed down, Diana came running to Bruce's side. She was careful not to touch his wounds. Most of them seemed not to be as deep as she feared, but she called for the nurse to come right away right when she saw blood flowing quite freely from his side.

"What happened?" Diana asked.

Bruce nudged in Dick's direction. "When I was waiting in the hall, I heard an uproar in the palace grounds. As soon as I heard Dick's yell, I ran outside. And well… the sight of two strange men must have prompted them to attack us." Bruce stifled a groan when Diana placed a clean cloth—which was given by the nurse—on his wound.

"Dick! Oh my god, are you all right? What happened?" Donna asked from out of nowhere, rushed to Dick's side and checked how severe his condition was.

"Shouldn't your first question be somewhere along the line of, 'What are you doing here'?" Bruce said matter-of-factly. "Were the two of you planning something?"

Dick blew out a sigh, said, "I was just hanging out with Donna. No one was supposed to know that I was here. I was hiding in a cave, waiting for Donna to come back when I heard _your_ jet booming right above me. I stepped out, confirmed my guess, but just then a group of soldiers came running towards me. Of course I had to make a run for it. And then you showed up," he looked at Bruce. "You showed up and pulled me into the palace, which was very, very dangerous in the first place."

"If we ran into the forest, we would have been like sitting ducks. There would have been no way of escaping them, and it would have taken longer than necessary for Diana or the queen to come after us while convincing the guards that we're not enemies."

"Yeah, well, it didn't seem like it was a good idea at that time, especially with us running around in circles," Dick said, scanning the ruin of a room that lay before them. "I think we came in here twice already."

"Be thankful you didn't end up as a sacrifice to the gods." Bruce said, wincing at the pain shooting from the deep gash on his side. "I'll overlook this for now, but you owe me," he uttered to Dick as Diana helped him to his feet.

"How comforting," Dick said sarcastically, his lip upturned slightly.

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She inhaled and exhaled in long and regular intervals. She clutched her belly cautiously, slightly afraid that a stray branch might smack her in the midsection. She walked slowly, occasionally glancing down on the ground rather than looking straight ahead; she was careful not to trip or step on any sneaky undergrowth beneath her.

Diana looked up at the sun, scanned the shadows looming amidst her. She calculated in her mind the location and angle of the sun—an archaic method of telling time. It was not as convenient as reading the time from a watch, but it was useful when she was out in the open, relying only on nature to guide her.

She breathed in the air deeply. The scent of nature's crisp vitality aroused her, and she clutched her knapsack closer to her chest. A wave of mixed emotions came bubbling up within her, crashing into each other. She was nervous, and yet excited. Here she was: pregnant, moody, bloated, and about to meet an old friend who always was ten times as beautiful as she was. Although she never bragged about her beauty, her mother always did. Nonetheless…

She gave a start when she heard coquettish laughter not far from where she was standing. Her heart began to thump faster. She walked a few steps forward before coming to a clearing that accommodated the nymphs bathing in the river. Diana felt slightly guilty for watching them secretly; she felt like a stalker. Just the thought made her skin crawl. But she shook her head, drew in a long breath to calm her. She scanned the area once again, and finally, caught sight of a startling beauty that never creased to amaze her.

Aphrodite, with her eyes closed, was sitting on a stone surrounded by her entourage. The goddess remained still as the nymphs washed her hair and perfumed her body with a divine, flowery scent. Diana stared at Aphrodite's damp blonde hair shimmering against the light; her pale, fluorescent complexion stunning and flawless; her long legs, arms, full chest—her whole body—sculpted into statuesque perfection; her grey eyes continuing to mesmerize Diana as she looked on. But Diana didn't want to waste any more time. So she blew out a sigh and took a resolute step onto Aphrodite's oasis.

The nymphs gasped at the suddenness of the intrusion. On impulse, they shielded the goddess' naked body from Diana. But Aphrodite, calm as ever, slowly opened her eyes with a knowing smile plastered on her face, gestured to her servants to stop what they were doing. As they did so, the goddess stood up, swathed a silk robe around her. She ordered her attendants to leave them.

When they left, Aphrodite snorted. A very ungodly way of confrontation. But Diana was clearly an exception, an old friend already accustomed to the goddess' seldom witnessed and disgusting habits. "It has been a while, Diana."

"Indeed." Diana saw Aphrodite's gaze moving down to her belly.

"So, it takes a baby for you to earn the right mind of visiting me." Aphrodite feigned hurt, aware that Diana knew better. But Diana played along.

"I deeply apologize. But the man's world is fraught with so many troubles, it is impossible to simply get away from it all."

"The man's world… ah yes. I certainly miss that." Aphrodite said with a hint of nostalgia. She then walked towards Diana, waved a hand until a couple of servants materialized with a jar of wine and goblets. Diana followed Aphrodite's gesture to sit down on a stone chair—set beneath a leafy shade—while Aphrodite herself rested on the chair opposite Diana, who pressed the cup of wine to her lips. Aphrodite did the same, nodded her head in satisfaction, and asked one of the nymphs to go away. To the remaining attendant, she whispered an order to her. The nymph nodded and immediately left. Aphrodite then leaned forward, peered into Diana's eyes. "I see that the man's world has kindly taken you in. I am glad that they please you so much to the extent that your sense of justice is uncannily firm. But what surprises me the most is the fact that you allow a man to take control of you—not in a bad way for that matter." Aphrodite's eyes suddenly glinted mischievously. "He must be excellent in bed, yes?"

Diana laughed, blushed. "You never change." She gulped more wine. She didn't know if it was just the wine that made her cheeks warm, but she looked down to avoid Aphrodite's piercing gaze. "He is… all right, I guess."

The goddess's head snapped back in amusement. "You guess? Since when have you been bashful towards me? Just say it, 'sex with… what's-his-name is fantastic! We do it anywhere and anytime when no one's looking. I never felt such pleasure before. But I want him to want me even more. Please teach me the way! No, endow me with your alluring talent and tactics. Turn me into a sex kitten! I implore you!'" Aphrodite chuckled when she saw Diana's face turn scarlet.

"Do I look like the type that dreams of becoming a _sex kitten_? Honestly…" Diana sipped wine, tried to look annoyed.

Aphrodite leaned her chin on her hand. "But I can see it on your face. You just don't want to admit it." The goddess continued before Diana could retort, "You're just like your mother, afraid to let your emotions run freely. Sometimes, there's nothing wrong with letting your desires take control."

"I do not wish to be transformed into a sex kitten, if that is what you are implying," Diana said briskly.

"He's a good man, isn't he?" Aphrodite said when Diana remained silent and continued to down more booze.

Diana nodded. "Yes, he is." She smiled. And then she gasped, suddenly remembering her purpose of visit. She opened her knapsack and pulled out a bottle of wine and some fresh fruits. She handed them to Aphrodite.

"The usual offering," Diana said.

Aphrodite accepted them with a grin. "Ah yes. It has been a while since I last eaten your hand-picked strawberries." She held a strawberry in her hand and nodded. "Strawberries are said to make your skin smooth. That is why I love them." Aphrodite ate the fruit and rolled her eyes. "And they are delicious!"

"I also brought you something else." Diana beamed at Aphrodite's satisfied expression, and then pulled out a box of Belgian chocolates. "Your favorite."

"Oooh! You are a godsend!" She quickly pried open the box and eyed them with lust.

"With wine to boot," Diana added.

"Oooooh!!! Two of which are akin to sensual pleasure!" Aphrodite exclaimed excitedly. She momentarily looked up to see slight revulsion in Diana's face. "What?" She popped a piece into her mouth. "They're _orgasmic_."

"What garbage are you suddenly filling in poor Diana's head, you vile nymphomaniac?" Diana and Aphrodite looked up to see Artemis emerge from the thicket.

Diana immediately stood up at the sight of her. As usual, Artemis had a proud—and manly—aura about her. Her chestnut-colored hair was tied back in a bun; her skin evenly tanned from exposure of the sun; her green eyes were the striking color of the leaves populating the area; and her bows and arrows always accompanied her wherever she went. The goddess of the hunt smiled at Diana but grimaced at Aphrodite, who was busy eating her chocolates.

"Don't you have any grace toward me at all?" Artemis asked angrily.

"Grace toward you? _You?_ Since when have ever cared?" Aphrodite stopped munching, turned to face her sister.

"Why I ought to—" Artemis was about to stomp toward Aphrodite when Diana interrupted them by planting herself in the middle of the two goddesses.

"That is enough out of the both of you. Please…" Diana said with a pleading voice.

Hearing this, Artemis sighed. She sat on a stone, as far away as possible from Aphrodite's, and grabbed a cup of wine. "So… Diana." She downed some wine. "You're pregnant. And you did it with a _man, _no less." She barely contained a shudder. "You do realize that it is going to be difficult."

"I know that already, Artemis. I discussed it with my mother, and she's fine with it."

"I see…" Artemis narrowed her eyes. It was her way of contemplating whatever it was that going about in her head.

"By the way," Diana said, interrupting the goddess' thoughts. "How did you find us here?"

Artemis looked up, said, "Why, I got a tip-off from one of Aphrodite's nymphs. But before that, the animals and trees saw you and heralded your return to me. They were very meticulous about your appearance—especially when they haven't sensed your presence for so long—and they noticed something very different about you. So when they described you to me, I somehow figured it out. But I had to see it for myself, of course. So once I got the message of your current whereabouts, I came as soon as I can." Artemis finished her story with a slurp of wine.

Aphrodite heard that, and cringed. "How_ manly_ of you. You should be more mindful of yourself."

"Will you shut it?" Artemis said, rising from her seat.

"Just some friendly advice from your dear,_ beautiful_ sister." Aphrodite avoided Artemis' glare, turned her attention to the strawberries. "After all, you need to realize how important outward appearances are. I believe that one of the reasons you are always angry is because you're still a virgin. Why, look at Diana. She used to be just like you. Always prattling on and on how disgusting men are. But see now, she has matured into a fine, _civil_ woman. Do you not agree?"

"I do not! And will you, for once in your life, stop talking about sex?!" Artemis was about to hurl a rock at Aphrodite but Diana held out a hand to stop her.

"Artemis, calm down…" Diana uttered, her voice tinged with worry.

"If that stupid nymphomaniac sister of mine just shuts up, I. WILL. CALM. DOWN!" Artemis yelled.

Apparently, Aphrodite was less deterred and more determined by Artemis' angry reaction to the mention of sex. "What can I say, I am the goddess of love and sex. Sex gives pleasure. Sex is also essential in a marriage, for it somehow brings couples all the more closer. Without sex, a couple's love dissolves. Without sex, a person ends up feeling cranky all the time. Ask dear Father Zeus, and he'll attest to that. Sex is a necessity to me, to every human being, to every animal—to every living entity—and hopefully, you will come to realize..."

"Don't dare involve me in your philosophy…" Artemis warned Aphrodite.

But Aphrodite continued anyway. "… Hopefully, you will come to realize that I am—"

"Aphrodite!" Artemis grabbed one of her arrows but Diana stopped her before she could aim and fire.

"Right!" Aphrodite finished with a grin.

Artemis and Aphrodite continued to stare at each other, unwilling to break the connection. They were testing each other, to see which one would give in first. Diana watched them, rolled her eyes. As long as the three of them were together, this sort of thing happened on a regular basis. The only reason why Artemis and Aphrodite managed not to kill each other was because of her. They loved Diana, to the point that they would act like_ normal_ sisters in front of her. But sometimes, their childish antics went overboard; Diana continued to ignore them, rummaged through her bag and fished out a golden locket.

"Artemis…" Diana started.

"Not now, Diana," Artemis said through clenched teeth.

"I have something for you," Diana walked to Artemis' side. She didn't mean to rush, but she still had to pay a visit to Hera, who was all the way in Olympus. Unlike a number of gods like Aphrodite and Artemis, Hera seldom came down to earth. It would certainly take some time until Diana was allowed to enter Olympus, especially when her intention was to pay respects to Hera. "It's a keepsake from me." Diana could tell that Artemis was fighting the urge to look away from Aphrodite's calm gaze. Artemis hated losing, especially to the likes of her sister; the goddess still refused to give Diana full attention. Instead, Artemis simply nodded her head—an indication that the goddess was listening intently.

Diana understood, continued, "Remember the last time we were together, when we were watching a group of young girls by the riverbed?" Artemis tentatively nodded her head. Diana carried on, "You happened to see one of them holding a locket and inserting a picture into it. You saw that, then you mentioned wanting it as well, because that kind of memento could keep memories locked up tightly, and it would only be accessible to you." Diana held it out. "You've always wanted one because it would be close to your heart, just like how our memories of each other are."

As soon as Diana let the locket dangle from her hand, Artemis admitted defeat, turned away from Aphrodite, and accepted the locket with an excited gleam in her eyes. She smoothed the ornament between her fingers and opened it, which revealed a picture of her, Diana, and Aphrodite smiling back at her during the younger days.

"Why is Aphrodite in here?" she asked testily, despite the fact that she could feel varying emotions welling up inside her.

"Ooooh! Let me see!" Aphrodite jumped up, bounded towards Artemis.

"Don't you dare come near me!" Artemis, in defense, stepped back, pushed Aphrodite's outstretched arms away. "Don't touch me, you freak!" she yelled.

"Uh… I'm still here, you two…" Diana was waiting for them to give her a few words of blessing. But they already seemed unaware of her, as they squabbled endlessly over the locket.

_Guess I should just hope that they'll remember their promise to bless me. _Diana began to pack her things when Aphrodite called out, " Aren't you such an impatient one!"

The Amazon princess looked up to see Artemis and Aphrodite's sudden change into regal composure. Artemis spoke first, "We bequeath to you our inexhaustible blessing and promise to guide and protect you and your loved ones." Aphrodite then interjected, "In return, visit us more often. And while you're at it, don't forget my Belgian choco—" Artemis elbowed her, said, "You have our word, dear friend." Artemis and Aphrodite ceremoniously bowed in Diana's direction as they finished, and Diana did the same to honor them.

With that said and done, Aphrodite made a melodic whistle. A burst of wind engulfed them. Diana instinctively placed an arm on her belly. When the wind died down a bit, appeared before them was Hermes, the messenger god.

"Well, well. If it isn't Princess Diana of Themyscira. What can I do you for?" Hermes, with his same old cocky grin, leaned on his staff.

Artemis answered for Diana, who was surprised at Hermes' sudden emergence. "Tell Hera that an old friend of ours is wanting her blessing. It is _the_ top priority one." Artemis immediately held out a hand before Diana could say anything. "Aphrodite and I can tell that you want to get this over and done with, so we are speeding things up a little for you."

At a loss for words, Diana just nodded her head.

Hermes furtively glanced at Diana, nodded his head. "Will do." Hermes straightened his back. "You want the formal ceremony?"

"Not necessary. A quick one more like it," Diana said.

"All right," Hermes dipped his head in assent. "I'll let Hera know you're on your way."

"Thanks, Hermes." Diana made a low bow in his direction.

"Sure." And then he disappeared.

Diana turned to her friends. "Will you two be coming with me?"

"If you want us to," Aphrodite said with a smile.

Diana smiled back. "Please do."

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She could barely remember the last time she visited Olympus, but she knew it to be way, way, WAY back in the earlier days of her childhood. She remembered her mother bringing her to Olympus, for they were invited to a party hosted by Zeus himself. That was definitely a long time ago, now that Diana thought hard about it. That was first time she met Aphrodite, Apollo, and Hermes (she'd already been friends with Artemis long before she was introduced to some other prominent divinities). She smiled at the memory.

Walking past the golden gate, she savored the memory as if it only happened yesterday. Her footsteps echoed across the cobbled pavement. She glanced at the green pastures stretching beyond, in front of her, beside her. She looked up to see clouds creating a hazy yet calming atmosphere about her. Indeed, she was in heaven—the home of the gods.

"Ugh… '_home_'," Artemis said with dread.

Diana looked at her. "Just bear with it. Whether you call it your home or not, it was still your home, even for a short period of time."

"It's just so… _perfect_. It unnerves me." Artemis shuddered in disgust.

"For a goddess, you have no sense of pride." Aphrodite said with a huff. Somehow, being in Olympus has made her condescending, in contrast to her charming behavior on earth.

"At least I'm able to list down my flaws. No god is perfect, as you can see. Olympus is just a fabrication of what gods ought to be, but not how they are. Olympus is just a wishful thinking of a god who is as snooty as you are," Artemis countered.

For the first time in the day, Aphrodite glowered at Artemis. "You barbaric _prick!_ You should be ashamed of yourself for believing that you are higher than the rest of the gods. You have no shame, no shame indeed!"

"What, you think that _we_ gods want to remain as gods forever? Why don't you look at yourself before badmouthing me? You always—ALWAYS—chase after _human_ guys to have sex with them. Doesn't that insinuate your desire to be like human, to be human? If you're so proud of being a god, why don't you find some other god to have sex with?" When Aphrodite didn't say a word, Artemis said, "You have nothing to say, right? You know why, because you do hate it yourself—being an immortal, that is. For us gods, including anyone who's been endowed with immortality, we are cursed to watch everything perish before our very eyes. There's no such thing as perfection in our being, in our home, in our world."

"Angry as always, I see," a voice said from behind them. The three of them turned around to see Apollo, Artemis' twin, staring back at them. "I'd have to disagree with you on one point, my dear sister."

Artemis cocked her head to the side to hear him out. "My music is perfect. Including, my good looks," he said with a broad grin. Artemis rolled her eyes, and bit her tongue from retorting with heated sarcasm. From her peripheral vision, she could see Diana beaming at her ridiculous brother. For Diana's sake, she didn't want to ruin the 'happy' moment.

Diana laughed at him, opened her arms to embrace him. "You… are so full of yourself. As always."

"And you," Apollo said, glancing down. "Have changed. For the better, I'd say."

"Hate to break the reunion…" Hermes popped out of nowhere, interrupted them. "But Hera's waiting."

Diana could feel her heart beating fast, adrenaline quickening its pace through her veins. She, along with her friends, followed Hermes down the road. They soon reached a grand staircase that led to Zeus and Hera's throne. Diana looked up but could barely see the top, which was obscured by clouds. They started to climb the steps—made of marble—when a plume of smoke appeared out of nowhere, creating a blinding vile around them.

Diana shielded her eyes, opening them just a bit to take a peek of what laid before them. She could hear shock and frustration around her. And she understood why. Before them, three steps above them, stood Hades.

Diana didn't know how to react; she felt cold wind filling her, causing bumps to form on every inch of skin's surface. No one—not the sly Hermes or high-strung Aphrodite—could utter a word. She saw Hades smirk, his dark eyes watching her like a lion targeting a single, weak gazelle to pounce on. In her head she heard whispers of caution, telling her to turn back and make a break for it. But she stood rigid on that same spot. She even had trouble breathing. She didn't know what to do but stare at the intimidating figure looming in front of her.

And then, his voice boomed around them. Apollo and Hermes instinctively shifted in front of her, blocking Hades from taking straight aim at Diana if _that_ were to happen.

He smirked and snorted. Like a pig. A major royal pain in the ass. "Is that how you greet your _estranged father_?"

"If you already knew that, why did you even bother coming here?" At last, Artemis broke away from muted shock, retorted with heated venom. Her arms were bulging with intimidating tension, her stance purporting to readiness to fight.

"Even though I haven't seen my _daughter_ for ages, that doesn't mean I have no right as a _father_ to see how she's faring in the world… in the man's world at that."

"You were never a father to me," Diana hissed at him, after momentarily clambering out of the internal mayhem churning inside her. She rested a hand on her belly, as if protecting it from the potential harm that stood in front of her.

Hearing that, Hades bellowed, tears of laughter forming at the corners of his eyes. When he stopped, he donned a mask of solemnity, and for a moment, a tinge of regret. "Don't worry, I have no plans to hurt you… or the baby." He paused, cleared his throat. "I'm here because Hera urged me to."

At that instant, everyone looked up and saw Hera, in all her breathtaking regalia, standing at the topmost steps, where the clouds began to lift. She then began to descend, gliding down instead of taking one step at a time.

"Dear Diana," She began, her voice melodic and calming. Just the sound of her voice nearly made Diana think that she was in a spa. "You will always have my blessing. You have remained steadfast and loyal to the call of justice. For that, I have always watched over you. For you to take the bold dive into humankind—that act alone has made me even more proud of you, my dear child. You have certainly defied the mundane rules of the Amazon society. You strove to find meaning in your own life by taking another path, which is corrupt, yet hopeful for better things. You have proven yourself worthy of my blessing. Go and be happy. I know that despite the troubles and grief that lie ahead, you will outshine that as a strong and faithful daughter and servant of mine." With that said, Hera made a low bow and smiled.

Diana, in return, bowed as low as she could. As she straightened up, Hera added in, "I only asked Hades to be here so he can see you. Despite appearances, he's always cared."

Before Diana could retort, a cloud of smoke embraced her and soon enough she was back in the woods, amidst the trees, the shrubs, the quiet flow of the waters beneath her feet. Olympus was gone, and with it, her divine friends. She was once again alone, slowly heading back to her palace. The only difference from then and now was she felt like a burden was lifted off her shoulders.

When Bruce and her Mother came rushing toward her, a smile was plastered on her face.

Indeed, despite the hardships that lie ahead of them, she knew that no matter what, the gods will remain loyal to her. They may have no power to protect her from the plague that could cripple her physical and emotional well-being, but she knew that when she needed help, they would be up there, waiting and watching, guiding her with subtle grace.

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**YOU LIKE? NO? HUMOR ME! I would love to hear from you. **

**Oh, and… **

**To be continued… **


	10. Complications and a Helping Hand

Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League Unlimited.

Author's Note: A thousand apologies to all of you for taking forever to update. I was really swamped with homework and finals and so I didn't have time to write this chapter. Also, my muse left me, momentarily. So, I'm really sorry for that. But since it's summer vacation, I think that I'll have plenty of time to update and FINALLY wrap this up. I hope this chapter gives you much enjoyment as I felt writing it.

Enjoy!

P.S. Thanks so much for the reviews. You are all amazing!

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

"You just came home, out of the blue, and now you're flying back to Gotham, just like that?" Donna shook her head, sighed. She crossed her arms over her chest, stood in the doorway as a barricade. Diana just smiled, hugged her sister.

"You know I'd love to stay for another day or two…"

"Then stay for another day or two," Donna interrupted Diana.

"But Bruce has to go back for Justice League." Before Donna could protest, Diana pushed a finger on Donna's quivering lips. "The Justice League needs the Batman, and Bruce needs me. I'm sure Nightwing needs to head back too," Diana strolled to her bed to finish packing. Not that there was much to pack in the first place.

"Well, he's staying for another day, on one condition that I ask Hermes to teleport him to Bludhaven," Donna said, sounding proud of herself.

"Since when did you and Hermes become close friends?" Diana asked with a hint of suspicion.

"Oh, since the day I _introduced_ him to one of Psyche's daughters," Donna said in hushed tones, afraid that the Queen might come in at any moment and overhear their conversation. The Queen was very noble and honest, and if news of her daughters conspiring to reach the top through ulterior motives caught her attention, she would reprimand them to no end, to the point that Tartarus would seem like a sanctuary than experiencing Hippolyta's maternal tyranny.

Diana only shook her head. "Even Wally is not as conniving as you ended up to be."

"Conniving?" Queen Hippolyta entered the room, a raised eyebrow demanding an answer.

"Mother! Hello!" Donna straightened up like a bullet. "Uh… I'm sure you want some alone time with Diana here, so I'll… just be on my way. See ya." Before the Queen could utter another word, Donna was gone.

"That girl has changed," Queen Hippolyta started, looking at the door.

"For the better, I presume."

The Queen turned to Diana, smiled wistfully. "I would presume the same too." She sat on the foot of the bed, gestured for Diana to do the same. As soon as Diana sat next to her mother, the Queen laid a warm hand on her daughter's cheek, a proud, motherly smile taking over her facial expression. "You two have changed after living in the Man's World for a time. At first I was angered and frightened by your actions. Angry because you disobeyed my teachings, but frightened because I feared for your safety. And yet, in the end, you and Donna have surpassed the standard I have placed on you both. And that was… finding yourselves. Your purpose in life. The fire within you—you realized that you alone are pioneers and instigators of your own destinies, and that your passion and courage are the beacons guiding you toward the path you choose to take. Neither Amazon background nor I can be held solely responsible for what you've achieved. Moreover, you have grown more gracious toward others, men and women alike. And that's something I have failed to bequeath unto you, my dear daughter, even to this day." Hippolyta's blue eyes seemed to sparkle as her eyes began to well up. In the back of her mind, the idea of a grandchild just wouldn't let go. _Great Hera, I am going to be a grandmother!_ The gods have answered her prayers yet again.

"Oh, Mother," Teary-eyed, Diana started to sniff. "You are mistaken. I couldn't have achieved all this if it were not for your upbringing." A wail was just itching to come out—the rush of emotions was almost uncontrollable!—but Diana composed herself, cleared her throat, "Perhaps it's true that neither Amazon background nor your upbringing alone molded me this way but, it's both that have."

They hugged again, this time with tears cascading down freely, especially on Diana's part.

"Mother! I can't stop," Diana just held her mother tightly, like a little child afraid of letting go.

"It's the hormones, dear, the hormones," Hippolyta brushed off tears from Diana's eyes. "There, there. You're still beautiful even when you're crying Noah's flood."

Diana ignored the last comment, said, "If it's hormones then why are you crying too?"

Hippolyta just smiled. "Tears of joy, my dear child. I am going to be a grandmother very soon!"

A knock interrupted them. Wiping their tears away, Hippolyta cleared her throat before demanding the identity of the person standing on the opposite side.

"Sorry to disturb your intimate moment, your Majesty," Bruce started. "But may I have a quick word with the Princess?"

"You are going to be with my daughter for the most part of her life than I ever will, and you are not sparing the one moment I can share with her before you finally take her away from me?" Hippolyta said jokingly as she practically glided to the door and opened it. "You are a very possessive man."

"Only for the finest things," Bruce retorted with a sly smile.

He made a low bow before closing the door behind him. He took one glance at Diana before deducing the worst. "Please tell me your mother's not going to move in with us till the baby's born?"

Diana rolled her eyes, wiped off the last teardrop before asking, "So what's so urgent that you have to shoo my mother away?"

"Got a call from John," Bruce sat down next to Diana. "Trouble in Central City. Apparently there's not enough Justice League to go around the world with."

Even before Bruce finished explaining, Diana was already zipping her bag. "Well, what are you waiting for? We've got a flight to catch, don't we?"

Bruce grinned. "Not to worry, I believe we're right on schedule."

"Keep dallying then we're sure to miss it," Gliding toward the door, Diana turned to face him, "C'mon, Captain." Her tone was low and inviting.

"You know, that's not helping me." Bruce wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I know," Diana nipped his ear playfully as they crossed the threshold. "Let me say my goodbye to Mother first."

"I'll prepare the jet then."

"Alright."

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Dinah was munching on a sandwich—tuna with a generous slather of mayonnaise, mustard, and olive paste—when Ollie walked in, panting, from an afternoon-long, around-the-world grocery shopping. In just one day he was able to make several trips to the farmer's market, fish market, even to France for fresh chocolate croissants and Thailand for authentic red curry. He dropped the brown bags on the kitchen counter when Dinah's hunger pang began to act up again.

"Pineapple sounds good right about now," Dinah said, batting her eyelashes mercilessly.

Ollie was about to object when he thought better of it. He sighed. "Where do you want it from this time?"

"Hmmm… I hear the Philippines has one of the best. Oooh…" Her eyes went wide as another thought hit her. "And their mangoes… hmmmm… I hear the taste is akin to Ambrosia." Dinah took one last bite of her sandwich before rifling through the bags. "Pickles! Just what I'm craving for."

"Great, of all the food she could pick it had to be located from the other end of the world." He rubbed his face with a tired hand, sighed more. "I wouldn't be surprised if our kid turns out to be a UN ambassador or something." Ollie mumbled as he got up to wash his face.

"Ollie…" Dinah started.

Ollie just kept on walking, afraid to turn around. He prayed that he would lose his hearing at that very moment.

She followed him into the bathroom, sat on the toilet bowl.

"Need to pee again?" Ollie asked nonchalantly. He was already used to it—Dinah using the bathroom every hour.

"I just did, before you came back," Dinah answered. She looked up at him as he splashed ice-cold water on his tired face. She had to give him points for doing all the things she demanded of him. She smiled inwardly. "The pineapple and mangoes can wait." Ollie froze for a moment, and then relaxed, lathering his face with soap.

"You sure? I don't think I'd want to wake up in the middle of the night again doing shopping round_s_ around China or Norway or the Philippines." Actually, there were several instances when Ollie had gotten everything Dinah had asked for, only to discover all his efforts to be in vain when she later craved for other things. No matter how well prepared he ended up to be, meeting the demands of a pregnant woman was impossible and very, very fickle.

Dinah blushed. "Sorry," she said, feeling helpless and heavy at the same time. She bent down slowly, massaged her bloated feet and ankles. "I'm fat."

_Oh God, here we go again_. Ollie quickly dried his face, bent down next to Dinah before the dam broke. "No, no, no, you're not fat." He looked at her flushed face, her untidy bun, her balloon of a belly, her swollen ankles. "You're beautiful." And he meant it. To prove it, he kissed her, forceful and gentle at the same time. "And demanding, and ever-hungry, and indecisive. But never fat. Just… a bit bloated."

"Bloated! It's a euphemism for fat isn't it?"

Dam broke.

"No, no, Dinah, please baby, that's not what I meant."

She wailed, a spring of tears soon forming into Niagara Falls.

But Ollie didn't curse or storm out or say anything. He just handed her his hanky and tried to calm her down. He knew that Dinah couldn't help it. Her hormones were driving her crazy; correction: it was driving him up the wall. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to be angry. He just waited till she stopped, all the while patting her knee and dabbing her face with tissues.

Suddenly, a window shattering from the living room bolted them to look up. Ollie whispered to Dinah to stay where she was as he stealthily crept out of the bathroom, quietly shutting the door behind him. He grabbed a golf club from the closet before stepping out of the bedroom and into the hallway. He paused for a second when everything was suddenly quiet. When a creak in the wood echoed across the living room, Ollie stepped to the right, getting closer to the living room's entryway when a masked face suddenly popped through the entrance, startling both the burglar and Ollie out of their skins.

With lighting-fast reflexes, Ollie clubbed the burglar on the face. The head whipped back in shock but that didn't cause the intruder to stop. He quickly got up, threw a punch at Ollie. They sparred for a moment, Ollie winning. When Ollie was about to deliver the last blow, a hit on the head from behind took the wind out of his lungs. There were two of them. _Shit! I should have known better._

Another blow to the face finally brought him down to his knees.

When a click from a gun rang loudly in his ears, all he could think of was Dinah in the bathroom, waiting for him, not knowing what was going on, waiting for the gunshot to…

"You assholes! Get out of my apartment!" Dinah's deadly blows were no match for them as she caught them by surprise. She punched and kicked and did a somersault until they were both down, blood spilling freely from their mouths and noses.

When Ollie finally gained consciousness a minute later, the first thing he saw was Dinah by the phone stand, shakily clutching the phone in her hand. But the blood streaking down her legs took his breath away.

"Ollie… the ambulance is on their way," Dinah murmured before crumpling to the floor.

"Dinah!" was all Ollie could say as he held her, waiting for the medics to storm in as the sound of sirens was inching closer.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Diana wistfully stared at the endless expanse of blue waters below. She had almost forgotten the time when she was but a young Amazon warrior; how refreshing it was to swim in the ocean alongside the dolphins and whales, to hold her breath for several minutes just watching schools of fishes scurrying by, the rainbow-colored corals giving shelter to countless living organisms in the sea.

"Even for Wonder Woman, being pregnant and scuba diving are two things that can't go together," Bruce said when he noticed Diana just staring quietly below.

Diana rolled her eyes in protest, though she knew that Bruce wouldn't see it. "Just admiring the view, that's all." She didn't want to admit it but Bruce, as always, saw right through her. Again. She decided to change the subject. "So, are you going straight to Justice League headquarters?"

"No. I'll drop you off first in the mansion." Bruce slightly turned his face to gauge her reaction. He knew that Diana was not made for domestic life. He knew better than that. No sooner would she feel restless and lonely, and three months of pregnancy would seem like a life sentence to her.

"I'm still not an official mother and yet I'm already being trained like one." Diana said, trying to make it sound like a joke but her apathetic tone gave her true feelings away. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. But before she could say anything, Bruce interrupted her.

"Well, judging by the lack of staff in the League, I'm sure we can make a little negotiation with Mr. Terrific." Bruce suggested. Looking back, he remembered that when Shayera was still pregnant, she spent most days in the Watchtower than anywhere else, marking her territory there. He was more than certain that Diana could do the same. And yet, what was holding him back?

"Bruce?" Diana leaned forward, her breath tickling his ear.

"What?" Broken out of his reverie, he adjusted his neck so he can face her… almost.

"I wouldn't mind spending time in the manor with Alfred." Sure, she would feel more ecstatic, more of her usual life amidst the Justice League. But at the same time a different pace of life would also do her good. If she was going to be a mother, she had to act like one. Besides, Alfred did promise her that he would teach her how to knit a little sock once they returned.

"Oh, I see." Bruce was stunned for a moment. Just then, with Coast City below them, he noticed some disturbance. Fire, explosion, rays of green and yellow lights thrashing any available surface—Bruce quickly donned his cape and cowl. Diana too readied herself, scrutinizing any activity that might pose a threat to their presence. Bruce immediately activated the invisibility mode and they continued cruising down the air high above, watching closely from where all the commotion was coming from. And that's when Batman spotted them.

Green Lantern, Arsenal, and Fire against Sinestro, Frostbite, and Giganta, respectively.

The Justice League had the upper hand, as usual. Still, Batman, especially with Diana onboard, didn't want taking any chances. As much as he despised doing nothing, he didn't want to risk Diana's and the baby's safety. He veered the jet to the right, avoiding close contact with the brawl below. Diana knew better than to go against Bruce's decision. Just like Bruce, she also hated leaving her comrades to fight while she was present but incapable of doing anything. This was a first that she felt helpless.

"I feel like a hindrance," Diana murmured to herself. Bruce heard it but said nothing. Diana then proposed, "I'll take over from here and you call Mr. Terrific to teleport you to Central City."

Bruce didn't say anything for a few seconds. Finally, he conceded. "Just be careful. Steer clear of any activity from below."

He was in the midst of giving full control to Diana when a beam of light shot in the air, hitting the jet's wing.

"Hold on!" Bruce yelled as he grabbed hold of the wheel. Spotting a clear rooftop ahead, he told Diana his plan. "We have no choice but to make a crash landing so I want you to fly out of the jet when I tell you to. And make sure they don't see you, got it?"

"Got it." Diana unfastened her seatbelt and braised herself. Bruce pulled hard on the wheel, trying to ease the impact. In the middle of the dive, Bruce suddenly exclaimed, "Diana, now!"

Without further delay, Diana pushed the shaft open and leapt out, stopping in midair. Bruce soon followed suit, spreading his cape to parachute his landing. As soon as he touched the ground he contacted Mr. Terrific and told him to teleport him and Diana to the Watchtower.

When they were finally beamed in the Watchtower, Bruce breathed a sigh of relief that Diana was not hurt. He glanced at her and gave her a small smile. Diana did the same.

Scanning their surroundings, the couple was glad that only Mr. Terrific was present in the teleporting area, along with a few human staff.

"Batman. Wonder Wo—" Mr. Terrific stopped short, his head tilted to the side a bit. Somehow, she seemed different than usual. It has been five, six months of her inactivity and now that she appeared, something seemed… unusual. For one thing, she was not wearing her costume. And two, was it just him or did she gain a few pounds?

"Teleport me to Central City in 2," Batman called out. Mr. Terrific, deciding that it was best to drop the matter for now, complied and started making the preparation for teleportation.

Meanwhile, Batman pulled Diana to the side, said, "Just stay here and rest. I shouldn't be long."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "You really expect me to believe that?"

Bruce inwardly shook his head. "No, but you understand the innuendo."

Diana just nodded and nudged him to get ready. She watched him as he disappeared before her very eyes, and walked in the direction of the medical station. As much as she wanted company, she knew better than to call either Shayera or John, or Wally. She can't expect them to be there for her at her disposal. She decided to maybe watch a few TV shows or read some magazines or, perhaps the cafeteria has something appetizing to offer her. She had to admit, she was getting hungry.

"Coming through!" A familiar voice called out from behind. She quickly moved to the side as a stretcher was racing down the hallway, accompanied by a beaten-up Oliver Queen and three medics.

Before they passed her, she saw Dinah Lance, with blood soaking the sheets, holding her bump as she was on the verge between consciousness and unconsciousness.

"Black Canary is… pregnant?" Diana asked herself, astonished.

When mobility finally came to her, she followed them, was dying to sprint after them but knew better than to do such a foolish thing.

As soon as she reached her destination, she asked one of the nurses what happened.

"Two burglars broke into Black Canary's apartment. One of them ambushed Mr. Queen but Black Canary fought them off. But under the circumstances she's not at all fit to fight. And so she's in critical condition right now. She called the ambulance but Mr. Queen knew better. He immediately contacted Mr. Terrific to teleport them here." She took one swift glance at the chart in her hand. "Let's just pray that the baby is strong enough."

When the nurse ran off to get more equipment, Diana approached the emergency room. The red light was on. Her eyes instantly fell on Oliver Queen pacing back and forth in front of the door, dodging medics' attention on his wounds.

"I'm telling you I'm fine. I don't need help, just… save her." His fists were clenched tight, his temper on the brink of exploding.

Diana inched closer toward him. "Ollie."

He stopped at the sound of her voice. The sight of her somehow calmed him down a bit. "Princess Diana," he addressed her.

"Let them tend to your wounds before they get infected." Diana said with a gentle tone.

He couldn't protest to her and finally let the medics guide him to a chair where they applied eye-tearing ointment to his open wounds. When they were done, Diana pulled a chair next to him and sat down. She rested a hand over his.

"I'm afraid for both of them," he said, clearly referring to Dinah and his unborn child.

Diana didn't say anything, couldn't. Instead, she made a short prayer to Hera, hoping for the best.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

To be continued…

You like? No like? Let me know!


	11. Girlfriends

Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League Unlimited.

Author's note: I am truly sorry for the extremely late updates. Life's happened so I didn't have time to daydream. And during that span of time my muse was nowhere to be found. Call it writer's block, plot bunny's gone missing, life, but I managed to go through one night without sleep thinking about what I'm going to do with the rest of the story. So here I am, writing it, and I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. I changed my pen name from **Jagan Lady** to **Bijou Snow**. Confusing, yes, but I thought the change was necessary. Didn't want to be known as a representative from a Mayan tribe.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Dinah touched the warm glass that separated her from her baby. She watched as his chest undulated, his eyes wide shut, sleeping. The moment when she saw a tiny glimpse of his eyes overwhelmed her with joy and pride—he had Ollie's eyes. She wished she could stroke the small tuft of hair, as dark as hers, but the doctor would permit no one to touch the baby, not even the mother. She felt like pulling the tubes that connected her son to the reading machine next to her, angry with the medical crew, with herself. She should have taken better care of her body. The beeping sound earned a glare from Dinah, and if she didn't control the anger welling inside her she would hit someone on the head.

Someone wrapped a towel over her shoulders. Dinah sighed, leaning against his hard chest.

"I want to rip the tubes off his chest," Dinah said, her tone tired yet determined.

"They just want to make sure he's fine," Ollie said, resting his chin on her neck. When silence pervaded the air, he whispered in her ear, "I'm just relieved that you're fine."

Dinah held his hand, leaning her forehead against his cheek. "You fight like girl. You need me, pregnant or not," she teased, biting his earlobe.

Ollie felt his heart race. The doctors expected postpartum depression but Dinah seemed to be fine. Or was she covering it? He had to remain wary no matter what.

"I always need you, Dinah," Ollie said, squeezing her, nearly depriving her of air.

They remained quiet and motionless, watching their tiny miracle. It was too soon to think of a name so they didn't have one. After the break-in, Dinah had gone through shock and that caused repercussions to the baby's health. She was only seven months into the pregnancy and the baby wanted out, right there and then. The doctor performed a quick C-section, rescuing both mother and son, but the baby was yet to be cleared for a clean bill of health. Because the baby was premature, he still had to stay in intensive care, constantly watched, stuck in an artificial incubator. Although his organs were fully developed, the doctor found a small murmur in the heart. If it proved small, surgery might not be required but the medical team didn't want to take chances. Constant monitoring was made first priority.

"He looks just like you," Ollie said, breaking the pressing silence.

"He has your eyes," Dinah responded.

"Your hair."

"Your nose and chin."

"Really? You could already tell?" Ollie stroked his chin. "You're pulling my leg."

Dinah laughed softly. "Boosting your false ego is my specialty."

Ollie nuzzled her neck, tickling her. Dinah laughed louder when Ollie's hand slipped beneath the revealing gown, touching her inner thigh. At that moment their baby stirred awake, his eyes roaming his surroundings, probably wondering where the giggles were coming from. Shocking green eyes fell on his parents, who weren't breathing in anticipation. The family trio stared at each other, attempting to form a bond in that split second. But the staring contest proved too tiresome and the baby yawned, soon fell asleep.

"That's my boy," Ollie said, hugging Dinah tighter.

Dinah outstretched her arm, wanting to touch him so badly. "When can I hold him?"

"Till they think our son is good and ready."

"When is he not good and ready? My son needs me, needs us. Those damn doctors are the reason why I can't hold him. Who gives them the right to say when I can hold my baby?" Dinah said, pulling away from Ollie to glare at him.

"The medical books, I presume," Ollie answered her rhetorical question. Whenever Dinah was all worked up there was no arguing with her. Whether she was right or not, Dinah would never back down from a fight. Especially against Ollie.

Ollie only sighed, letting her win. Why fight against a hailstorm when it would just beat you down till you die? That was how every relationship worked, married or not.

Without looking at Ollie, Dinah began opening the small hole so she could reach her baby. When skin met skin, her son stirred a little, shocked by the different kind of warmth that caressed his tiny fingers.

She was astonished by his size. His fingers could barely wrap around the tip of her finger and Dinah felt a dark hole expand within her. She could feel herself tearing up. The last thing she wanted was Ollie seeing her cry.

Just then the doors swung open with Helena and Diana stepping hesitantly through the doorway. Ollie forced a smile when he read their worried faces.

Diana wobbled ahead of Helena, asked, "How is he?"

"He's fine," Dinah said, stroking her baby boy's wrinkled face.

Hearing her calmer voice relieved Ollie. The sudden mood swings, from depression to bursts of calm and joy, still worried him but the latter overruled the first, though Ollie still feared for her. He would make sure she'd see the League's therapist, Martian Manhunter.

Helena let her shoulders down and she felt a knot pinch a nerve along her shoulder blade. She squared her shoulders, blew out a sigh. The last twelve hours nearly killed her. Sitting in the waiting room was nerve-wracking. The Question didn't help as he left for League business. In the end, she and Diana waited anxiously for news, stressed and lacking sleep. Diana refused to sleep, even during her condition. Batman would have Helena's head if she didn't do something to convince Wonder Woman that her body's health directly correlated with the baby's, but the Amazon princess was resolute. Like her and Dinah. Helena smiled at the thought. Her admiration for the superhero grew during those sleepless hours. Diana even let Helena feel the baby kick, causing Helena's eyes to widen in shock and awe.

Helena approached Dinah, glanced at the baby over her friend's shoulder. "He's beautiful."

"He is," Dinah said, proud and happy. Dinah then asked, "Want to touch him? He's still tender."

"You make him sound like a piece of roast beef," Helena said, shaking her head. "Maybe later."

Helena noticed the dark bags under Dinah's eyes and looked at Ollie with concern. He nodded in agreement.

Helena asked, "Want to grab a bite with Diana and me?"

Ollie was about to object, declaring that she needed more sleep than food, but Helena held up a head, telling him to sock it.

Dinah thought about it for a minute and nodded lightly. "Watch over him," she told Ollie before walking past him.

Ollie looked at Helena questioningly, to which she replied, "Take it easy, Queen. You know how Dinah is. She'll go to bed when she wants to and if she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to. You can't force things on her. I'll make sure she gets enough rest. But right now she needs a bit of girl time, alright?"

Ollie nodded, sighing.

Helena laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I care about her, too."

After putting on yoga pants and loose-fitting blouse, Dinah followed her friends in the direction of the greenhouse. They knew better than to bring her into a crowded area like the cafeteria. The greenhouse was the place for contemplation and relaxation. It was built for superheroes who were recovering from injuries or watering plants as a form of catharsis after harried battles.

Located in the far west wing, close to the emergency rooms, the greenhouse was a breathtaking spectacle. Orchids, lilies, roses, snowberries, ferns, carnations—plants of all colors, shapes, and sizes—bloomed in abundance, like an enclosed Garden of Eden. Rusty, wiry chairs and tables provided respite to the tired wanderer. Vines dangled from the clear ceiling and miniature palm fronds momentarily teleported them to the Amazon Rainforest.

It was Dinah's first time seeing the place. Helena's, too. Their place of retreat usually included training rooms, the gym, and cafeteria. They would never have guessed that such a place existed in Retrotower. They found themselves speechless, gawking their surroundings with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

As soon as Dinah composed herself, she sat in one of the chairs, which was surprisingly comfortable.

"Those were wreathed from Hephaestus," Diana pointed out, grunting as she eased herself down opposite Dinah.

"The hell," Huntress scoffed, walking down an aisle of snowberries. If she were to get married, this would be in her bouquet. Like cotton balls, they represented spunky, playful and individuality, a cutesy sexiness. Helena was a far cry from cute but these flowers drew her in, imprinting her profession of love.

Diana raised a brow at Helena, as if to dare her repeat the phrase. "Are you calling my bluff?"

"Maybe I am, what are you going to do about it?" Helena taunted the Amazon princess. It may not be the smartest move, but Helena was never known for her high IQ.

Dinah shook her head, a smirk playing across her lips. Her eyes pleaded with Diana to hold back from beating Helena to a pulp. Diana knew better than to stoop to Helena's level and she decided to play along with the sexy heroine.

"Send you off to the underworld since you don't believe me. Ask the god of the forge, he'll tell you himself," Diana asked, cocking an eyebrow at Huntress.

Huntress stared at Diana squarely, as if saying, '_No shit, right?'_

Dinah, on the other hand, turned to ignore them, gazing around her, the beatitude and splendor of all things created. Spellbound by kaleidoscope greenery, Dinah breathed in slowly, imagining to the days when she played around her mother's backyard, amidst the bees and dragonflies, stray dandelions creating a cloudy mist around her.

She nearly forgot the day when she tripped over a rock and scraped her knee, the gash a shadow reminder of her stubby legs. Her mother was at work, busy saving lives, but not her own daughter's. Alone in the backyard, crying over the pain, young Dinah wondered where the babysitter was. As usual, she was on the phone, the back of her head seen through the kitchen window.

'_I want my mommy, I want my mommy_' raced through her head but she knew her mother never came. Her mother was always busy with other things. Though she knew her mother loved her dearly, would sacrifice her own life even, her absence drew a divide between Dinah and her mother. No matter how hard she tried to mend that wound, it was hard to reconstruct a relationship when there never was a loving bond in the beginning.

As Dinah remembered her mother, she began to realize that her grown-up self was a copycat of her mother. Dedicated to work and avoiding deep relationships, Dinah was indeed her mother's daughter.

When her son was pulled out of her, she instantly feared for his life. She wanted to wake up so she could take him back. She wanted to make things better for him. He wasn't ready for the world and she was at fault for not taking better care of her body, of her baby. Although friends would pin the blame on external factors, like the break-in or her body's adverse reaction to shock, Dinah still felt the teeth of guilt bite her insides, the pain growing and expanding until there's nothing left but emptiness.

"Dinah?" Helena asked, interrupting Diana, running to Dinah. She cupped Dinah's face, wiped off the tears streaming down her friend's face.

"We should bring her back inside." Diana was about to help haul Dinah to her feet, but Dinah just shook her head, refusing their help.

"I'm fine. I just…" Dinah covered her face with her hands, barricading the tears from overflowing. The lines around her mouth grew hard and tense—she was clearly stopping herself from wailing. Her throat was even constricted from pressure.

"Do you want me to call Ollie?" Helena asked, concern and worry etched in her face.

Stubborn, Dinah shook her head. "He's the last person I want to see me right now. He's going to go on and on about postpartum depression and stuff but I'm fine. I just need to get a grip."

"Honey," Helena knelt next to Dinah, looking up to catch Dinah's eye. "What happened to you is not your fault, you hear me? You reacted with self-defense, and rightly so. Otherwise, the sonofabitch would have killed Ollie. You have to remember that, ok?"

Dinah didn't even nod or shake her head. She looked at Helena listlessly and said, "I'm a bad mother already."

"Dinah," Diana started, grabbing her chair to sit next to Black Canary. "You are nothing of the sort. _Hera_, you haven't even begun so how can you judge yourself like that?"

"I should have taken better care of myself. I should have grabbed a pole or Ollie's bow and arrow and shoot the damn fools. I should have thought things through before acting the way I did. I was just so stupid. I wasn't thinking."

Helena was about to yell at her friend but she controlled herself. "Dinah, this reasoning of yours is _insane_."

Diana stared at Helena, shocked at the way Helena approached things, especially with something as sensitive as depression. She narrowed her eyes at Helena, cautioning the brunette to tread on lightly. Very lightly.

Dinah stared at her friend, as if waiting to receive a beating.

Helena continued, "You are going to be a damn good mother. I've watched you during your pregnancy, and you're just spilling with our two mothers' love combined. You sing to your unborn baby, jog around the park, talk to the walls. If I didn't know you were pregnant I would have thought you were mentally insane." A hint of a smile broke out of Dinah's face. "Even when your son was nothing but the size of a malnourished squirrel, you loved him. You picked out colors for his room—though beige is such a bland color—attempted at sewing but that left you sewing your own hand, and you stocked his nursery with toys and pumps that could satiate ten babies in a third world country. So how could you say what you did was shameless and stupid? If you didn't act sooner, they would have hurt Ollie really bad, would have hurt you and your baby. But you didn't let that happen. You acted out of maternal instinct, fighting for your family. And you hardly see a mother capable of such a thing."

When silence consumed them, Helena sighed and stood up, started walking away when Dinah whispered something. Even Diana didn't hear it.

"You always know what to say, even though I end up wanting to kick your ass for it," Dinah said, rubbing her eyes.

"Of course. They call me bitch for nothing," Helena said, fishing out a handkerchief.

Diana left the two alone, stopping by a white rosebush for a sniff. She watched them from afar, reminiscing the days when she and her sister once shared secrets, interests, dreams. She missed Donna immensely but she saw no opportunity to spend time with her younger sister at the moment. She had other things to think about, like caring for her baby and Bruce. She had already resolved to stay in the human world so she could focus on more important things. Not that she didn't love her mother and sister but Bruce and the baby marked the second stage of her life. They needed her as much as they needed her.

But just because she made a promise to Bruce didn't mean she couldn't have friends. Girlfriends. Besides Shayera and a number of Greek goddesses and Amazon sisters, maybe she was able to make other close female friends in the League. When she looked away for a minute, at the flowers around her, Helena waved her over. Dinah and Helena were about to water the lilies. Diana smiled and joined them.

Diana thanked Hera for being blessed with friends. Once a land so strange, filled with so much man-made violence, the world of men was still capable of love, friendship, and joy. Filled with a sense of purpose and belonging, Diana felt at home, like this was the first step to becoming a normal woman—gardening. Or watering plants.

**To be continued… **

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	12. Baby Boom

Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League Unlimited.

Author's note: Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for your support and encouragement. I'm relieved to know that some of you are ecstatic of my return, though it's understandable for you to think I've permanently put this story on hold. Many apologies for that. But I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Hunger pangs, swollen ankles, dark circles, uncontrollable bladder, and bruised uterus lining—from the baby's kicking—Diana wished she had already given birth. She envied Dinah's early delivery. This pregnancy business was more torture than being captured and chained in a villain's dungeon. Her whole body was groaning in protest, carrying additional weight and hormones that threatened Bruce's life at any moment. Still, Diana couldn't wait to start a family of her own.

As she wobbled down the long staircase, her hand clutching her perfectly rotund belly, Diana missed the last step. At that exact moment, her heart lurched; panic signaling for a quick recovery. She instantly grabbed the rail before she fell, causing her side to spring against the balustrade, shielding her belly with one strong arm. Unfortunately, her footing slipped—of all the days to wear one-inch heels—and she landed on her ankle. Diana nearly bit her tongue as the pain shot up her leg.

She collapsed on the floor, groaning in pain. She was glad, however, that she didn't slip from the top or middle of the stairway. Otherwise she would have really endangered her baby's life.

Alfred had reflexes of a twenty-year old because he came dashing to her side from the kitchen, a phone pressed against his ear.

"Oh, Sweet Mary, Princess Diana, are you alright?" Alfred asked, his hand gingerly touching her bruised ankle.

Diana winced when he tried lifting her foot to make her more comfortable. "Fine… just can't stand," she wheezed. She could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said into the earpiece. "Princess Diana had a little accident. Nothing major, she fell on the staircase…"

"Alfred, it's just one step. Nothing serious, all I need is a pack of ice," Diana said.

Alfred wasn't listening to her. His eyebrows were knitted together, giving him a monobrow look. "Alright, Sir. We'll expect you soon." He tossed the phone to the side and began helping Diana to her feet. Or foot in this situation.

"There was no need for Bruce to come. I just sprained an ankle," Diana said, steadying herself as she leaned on the butler.

"I agree, and I could have easily remedied your foot but Master Bruce made me promise to call him when anything—and he means ANYTHING—happens to you. He'll throw my microwave oven away if I refused." Alfred led her to the couch, setting her swollen foot on a pillow. In a span of five minutes, her foot became a shade more purple or dark blue and the size doubled like a tumor.

"What's wrong with your oven?" Diana asked.

Alfred shrugged his shoulders. "He says he smells smoke whenever I use it, but I assure him it works just fine. I tell you, the culprit is either his cape or Batmobile." Alfred shook his head. "Seriously, blaming on a harmless contraption that cooks his meals." The old butler was clearly very protective of his kitchen gear.

"How old is your oven, if I may ask?" She knew that Bruce wouldn't purposely blackmail Alfred if there were no reason.

Alfred thought about it for a minute. "It belonged to my father, so I would say… about 20 years or so."

Diana gawked at him. "That's ancient! How could it still be working? Bruce may have a point."

"It may be old but it has a heart of a stallion," Alfred said, went to fetch his first aid kit.

"And legwork I hope," Diana muttered when she was alone. She remembered an account of Bruce setting the oven on fire one time. Maybe the memory was still fresh on his mind and it stirred something in him, like fear, shame, catastrophe. Bruce was far from irrational and Diana was sure that there was a reason for Bruce's blackmail against a harmless oven.

Unless it electrocuted him.

Alfred broke Diana's train of thought when he placed a pack of ice on her foot. She winced at the sudden chill, which numbed the pain almost instantly.

This could have been nothing, as superficial as a scratch, but the swelling, the heaviness of her entire body aggravated everything. Still, she braised herself and put on a brave face, watching Alfred tend to her wound with a tight smile.

With his sleeves rolled up, his hands weathered with age and work, his forehead wrinkled and busy, the pain began drifting away. The mansion was plagued with silence and slow breathing, with the occasional _click_ of ice meeting ice, soothing and cool against skin. Diana would have never foreseen herself relying on a man to heal her injuries. Since time immemorial, she was ingrained to bear the pain and handle her own wounds. At age fourteen, Amazon warriors mastered the ancient way of healing, prior to the time when the first aid kit became the emergency remedy of paper cuts and sprained ankles. Diana learned how to break bones and realign them to its rightful position, while tying a tourniquet around the broken area. They were also taught to pick the right herbs and rub them on a bleeding gash. Garlic, honey, and turmeric took the place of alcohol, analgesic, and memory booster.

Alfred was mummifying her foot when Bruce walked in, his face edged with worry. He nearly ran to Diana's side, brushing her sweaty hair, his beautiful blue eyes boring into Diana's own. He looked like a little puppy witnessing his master falling to the ground.

"It's just a sprained ankle," Diana said, holding his hand.

"You fell down the stairs," Bruce interjected.

"_Step_. It was a step. My baby bump blocked my vision so I didn't see the last step and I nearly fell over. It's really no big deal."

"It is to me. You and the baby may have gotten seriously hurt."

"But we didn't," Diana held his cheek, caressing it. "Don't think of locking me up in the room."

"What about the nursery? You can work on your stitching, room decor…"

"What's wrong with the bib I just made? It's cute," Diana said, narrowing her eyes at the implication.

"It's triangle," Bruce pointed out.

"It's a triangular bib. Be more open-minded." Diana said. "And what's wrong with the room's layout?" She could feel the hormones spiraling out of control, spilling over like a volcanic eruption in slow motion.

Bruce and Alfred shared a glance. "Nothing."

Diana glared at them. "Both of you don't like it."

Alfred vigorously shook his head, while Bruce stayed silent, a grim expression on his face. "It needs more color," Bruce finally said.

Alfred began clearing his medical kit, already plotting his escape.

"Of course I would pick the most neutral shade I could think of. We've decided to keep the baby's gender a secret until the baby is born." Diana said, sitting up.

Bruce sighed, standing up so his back faced Diana. "I'm just not sure yellow is a neutral color. Maybe beige or turquoise or white, but yellow is too… bright."

"Exactly. Like a ray of sunshine. Our baby's birth is a symbol of light and hope."

"But the color is just…" Bruce blinked his eyes for emphasis. "We need to change the wallpaper."

Diana's jaw dropped. "We made an agreement that I'm handling the baby's preparations, the nursery, the clothes, diapers, while you go traipsing from one rooftop to the next, stopping crime, coming home late, or never coming home at all, while I'm stuck here sewing, picking out the colors, cooking, getting a sprained ankle, adding extra fifty pounds…"

Tears and snot spilled over. Diana was blubbering like sad whale, a beautiful sad whale. Bruce never noticed her gain weight; her wailing simply resembled a whale's requiem.

He sat next to her and caressed her hair, pulling her face to his chest and kissing her on the head. "You're beautiful," was all he said and she soon stopped crying. She pulled away from him and rubbed her puffy eyes, refusing to look at Bruce. As much as she wanted to stay in his chest forever, he was wearing his Batsuit, which was cold, hard, and stained with blood.

"You need a shower," Diana said, still rubbing the snot from her nose.

Bruce nodded, kissed her temple before pulling her into his arms, carrying her to their room. Diana was slightly taken aback by his forceful yet gentle manner, and she squinted at him through swollen eyes, trying to figure him out. It was strange, the changed man who used to brood alone in his cave. She has always been an advocate of his change but Bruce left her speechless. During the past few weeks, Bruce made it a habit of coming home, whether it was midnight or 5 a.m., and he'd sleep for the remaining hours before he beamed back to HQ. Sometimes, his alarm would wake her and before leaving, he would plant a peck on the cheek. The first few occasions greatly alarmed Diana. She asked Alfred for advice, because she wasn't sure if this Bruce was really Batman Bruce.

"He still sports the same pout and dark bags, Princess. It is _him_," Alfred had reassured her. But even when the butler was sure of his answer, he still had that look of wonder.

So now, as Diana looked at her lover, she felt relieved. Relieved that he would never disappear into the night without planting a kiss at least.

When they reached the bedroom, he gently set her in the bed, cushioning her injured foot with pillows. He began unzipping when his phone rang. He answered at the second ring.

"Yeah," his voice was barely a whisper and Diana had to strain to listen. A suspicious chill tingled at the base of her spine.

Bruce quickly went to the bathroom and closed the door. All Diana could hear were muffled 'uh huhs' and a final 'see you tonight'. Soon the bathwater filled the unnerving silence and Diana could feel a well of panic rising within her.

She tried consoling herself, telling herself that Bruce was probably talking with either John or J'onn, she was almost sure of it. On the other hand, Bruce's eyes twinkled when he heard the voice of the caller. Bruce's eyes would never twinkle when conversing with a man.

There was only one possibility, that Diana was sure.

It was a woman. Not just any woman. A woman whose identity was being kept a secret from Diana.

Damn Wayne technology. They were immune to super hearing.

"Princess?" Alfred asked, holding a tray of food. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, Alfred, hi. I didn't hear," Diana said, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear.

"I knocked twice but it seems your mind is miles away from here. Is there something wrong? You need more ice?"

Diana shook her head. "No, just… had something on my mind. Thanks, Alfred." She smiled at the butler as he set the tray on the bedside table.

"Sounds like I'll need a handful of pennies to probe your mind. Did Master Bruce say something to you?"

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. It's… nothing," Diana laughed nervously, nibbling on a warm biscuit.

"Alright. Well, if you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen."

Diana thanked him. When the butler left, Diana's thoughts wandered back to Bruce. She tried calming down, telling herself that Bruce would never cheat on her, what with the baby coming in three months. Besides, she kept telling herself that she was still beautiful underneath the extra fat and puffy face. She blamed the raging hormones pulling the reigns, controlling her.

She breathed in deeply, glanced at the bathroom door, lied back down and stared at the ceiling. She listened to running water, imagining the blood and dirt washing away, purging Bruce's body of external toxins. And yet something within smothered him everyday. The haunting nightmares of his childhood consumed him day and night. He thought Diana never noticed, but she did. Always. She felt and smelled it. His pain, his fear, his agony.

Although Bruce played the expectant father and dutiful lover, Diana still felt the barrier between them. It didn't engulf them as before but it was still there, looming above her. Sometimes Diana felt inadequate against that, to the point of doubting herself. But Diana chose not to dwell on her feelings of insecurity. All she wanted was Bruce to rely on her, talk to her. She wanted to understand the depth of his pain, but only time would allow that. She didn't want to push Bruce if he was far from ready.

The water stopped and she could hear the sliding door open and close. The steam from the hot shower seeped into the bedroom, like warm tendrils drifting off, swallowing her in its foggy embrace. For a minute, Diana forgot the anonymous call on Bruce's phone. Slowly Diana was falling asleep, her eyes heavy and unwilling to wait for Bruce.

"Diana, wake up," Bruce said, sweeping hair from her face.

She blinked at him, almost irritated at him waking her. She was already dozing off. "What?" she asked snippily.

"Get dressed. We have a dinner reservation." Bruce said, buttoning his dress shirt. It was color blue, which meant something big and fancy. And mysterious. As if Diana didn't get enough of it already.

"What dinner reservation?" Diana stared at him, shocked.

"C'mon, let's go," Bruce was already adjusting his tie.

Diana scoffed. "You expect me to go now. Now. I have a swollen foot, I haven't showered in two days, and you just woke me up from a nap, which I have to tell you, is _very_ hard to come by these days." She watched as Bruce donned his suit jacket. "Are you James Bond or something? Why do you have to be so quick and nonchalant about dressing up? You're stressing me out."

Diana struggled to get up. Bruce helped her.

"I need to pee," Diana waved him away as she sat on the cool, white throne.

Bruce stood by the sink, rubbed his day-old beard. "I just thought it would do you good to get out tonight."

"Well, you could have at least told me earlier so I would have taken a bath this morning," Diana said, glaring at him.

Bruce shrugged. He wanted to explain that dinner was meant to be a surprise but he bit his tongue. He was already ruining it. "Sorry."

"And I don't feel like going," Diana said, averting Bruce's gaze.

Bruce was silent for a moment. "I'll push the reservation back an hour. I'll wait in the den."

Diana was about to object when Bruce disappeared out the door, intentionally avoiding confronting her, and with good reason. She wanted to yell so loud but it was pointless; Bruce would just tune her out. So she hopped into the shower as fast as she could without aggravating her sprain—she was Wonder Woman after all—got dressed in a black chiffon dress that flattered her baby bulldozer, and was walking down the stairs when Bruce ran up to help her. She grudgingly accepted but she was still angry with him.

"So where's this dinner reservation?"

"You'll see," Bruce said. Midway down, Bruce decided to carry her.

Alfred was sitting in the car when Bruce set her down.

"You look ravishing, Princess," Alfred said, tipping his hat to her.

Diana thanked him. "And how many times do I have to remind you to stop calling me _that_, Alfred."

The butler just smiled at her and drove off.

Diana looked out the window and the first thing she saw was the full moon. Basking in its own white light, a wave of nostalgia hit her. She missed flying mostly. She missed the wind in her hair, the tingling sensation when about to land, the lighthearted feeling of freedom. The night was beautiful and her grudge against Bruce quickly dissipated. She finally looked at him, who was staring at her the entire time, and she smiled.

All he wanted was for her to get out and enjoy the night. For six months of confinement, Bruce wanted her to live her life as a mother. She could still have fun _and_ a baby. Just because she was pregnant didn't mean she had to stay in the house 24/7. Diana leaned in for a kiss, whispered in Bruce's ear, "Thank you."

Bruce only nodded and squeezed her hand.

"You're beautiful."

Diana's face pinked. It exhilarated her whenever Bruce said any form of endearment. It made her want to throw herself at him right there and then. She was about to suggest a detour when a loud _boom_ shook the car, stopping time for a second.

Alfred hit the brakes as they watched fire and smoke in the distance. A block away from where they parked was a bank robbery in progress. And this wasn't just any bank robbery. It was Joker and his minions creating havoc.

"Shit," Bruce said, unbuckling his seatbelt. Batman had already taken over. "Alfred, get her out of here."

As much as Diana wanted to object, she knew there was no choice. She was powerless to do anything and it drove her mad. Bruce jumped out of the car, running into an alleyway to complete his disguise.

Alfred backed the car but suddenly a truck rammed into them, crashing into the backseat, causing the car to spin and bump into another car. Diana was thankfully in the opposite side of the impact but the shock still immobilized her. Everything around her, including her own body, was in slow motion but her mind was alert. When the shock had passed, she glanced at Alfred, who was unconscious. The airbags saved him from hitting his head. Diana touched her temple, which ached and trickled with blood.

She tried to open the door handle but it was stuck. Panic nearly stopped her from thinking coherently but Diana refused to let it get to her. She breathed in and out, focusing on a clean way out. She called out Alfred's name but he was totally out.

A tap on the window prompted Diana to look up with hope but the face that found her stopped her. Horrified her.

Joker's evil grin stared at her with deep amusement.

"Seems like Wonder Woman was about to crash our party, boys," Joker said, hopping from one leg to the other. "Good maneuver with the truck, Brutus. Think we just hit the mother load." Joker said, clapping his hands like an excited boy opening his Christmas present.

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**To be continued…**

**You like? No like? Please let me know **


	13. Retaliation

Disclaimer: I don't own Justice League Unlimited.

Acknowledgements: Thanks so much for all your reviews. I'm sorry for the slight delay—I was sick with the flu. 'Tis that time of the year. So when you have the time make sure to stop by a Walgreens near you for a flu shot. Stay healthy, warm, and safe!

Enjoy!

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Staring into those wild, crazed eyes, Diana felt a numbing chill fill her body. Instead of feeling the usual adrenaline rush that pushed her into action, she felt the crippling fear of crawling into a corner, hunching deeper into her own shadow. Diana watched as Joker tilted his head playfully, like a cat licking its chops, ready to spring on its prey.

In all her life, this was the first time Diana felt trapped, a prisoner to fear.

She never believed that death revealed a flashback of one's life like a short film. The only thing that rang through her ears was her mother's wise words. To always fight for what was right and to never give up. Especially in the face of adversity.

She closed her eyes, feeling the low throb at the base of her neck. The whiplash could have immobilized a normal person but not Wonder Woman. It was like a sprain, nothing more than an itch. She tasted blood in her mouth. She must have bitten her tongue at the impact. Or when she recognized Joker's face. Diana chose the latter.

Diana breathed in slowly, remembering her mother and sisters. They always calmed her down, the memory, their love. In that second, she was transported to her home. She could smell and taste the salty air, her feet buried in wet sand. The sun was a fire ready to be extinguished, and when Diana turned around she saw her mother and sisters urging her on, encouraging her, filling her up with so much love that it brought her to tears.

Diana had been through hell and back, and Joker was just a mere pawn, an evil pawn that could be crushed with one swift blow.

Her hand automatically shielded her bump, and she glanced at Alfred, who was leaning against the wheel, unconscious. She prayed to Hera that Joker didn't suspect something unusual about her body. The main reason why she took pregnancy leave was so that the Justice League's arch nemeses wouldn't realize that Wonder Woman was vulnerable. Vulnerable to her body's lack of defenses. If something were to happen to her body, the baby would take the toll. Diana could withstand a kick or bomb explosion, but her baby wouldn't. She and Bruce didn't want to take any chances, whether or not the baby inherited Diana's immunity.

Joker pulled the door open, his eyes unwavering, watching Diana with sadistic glee. "I think you need to dock Mr. Butler's pay, don't you think so, Miss Wonder Woman? We don't want that pretty face to get scratched, now do we?"

He inched closer, crawling into the backseat, snaking toward Diana. He had a knife in his hand.

Diana's hand scrambled for the latch behind her but she realized it was locked. Left with no other choice, she had to bust it open with force. She gritted her teeth and punched the door, but something was blocking her only exit. She turned around and saw one of Joker's massive minions barricading the door, trapping her.

"No where to hide, Princess," Joker said, licking the knife, giggling like a lunatic.

Diana only glared at him. "You are in no position to call me Princess, you infernal leech."

"Infernal, huh?" Joker smiled. "Sounds like a compliment."

"Go _back_ to hell," Diana said through gritted teeth.

Joker let out a hearty laugh, amused at Wonder Woman's uncharacteristic tongue-lashing. "Feisty! I love it when a mouse decides to turn into a Chihuahua, all bark but no bite. At least with a mouse, you reek with fear. But a Chihuahua is just pathetic. Yappy and afraid. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C." Joker's eyes roamed from her face to her chest, then to her hand that tried to hide her noticeable bump. His eyes widened with surprise.

"Congratulations! Who's the lucky daddy?" Joker jumped up, clapped his hands. "This night is just too perfect." He twirled the knife between fingers, toying with Diana's growing anxiety.

If only Alfred was not around, Diana would have ripped the car right then and there, unleashing hell. But she didn't want to hurt Alfred, and the car gave her no room to move without hurting either the butler or her baby.

"No wonder you're as helpless as a mouse. You're carrying a superbaby. Well, depends who the father is, right? But I'm sure your Wonder powers will prevail over our weak human genes. And I just had a thought." Joker feigned having a revelation, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Seeing that you're busy with crime fighting, why not leave me with the baby? Like a babysitter? Ooh, better yet, the adoptive daddy. Why…" Joker looked around. "Where's daddy? He left you all alone to fend yourself. I wouldn't do that. I would treat Joker Junior here new tricks. Oh yes, we're going to have so much fun…"

As Diana listened, her face was as pale as the full moon. She was horrified beyond belief, but anger began to overflow. She clenched her fist, and she was about to pulverize Joker's face when he held up a hand, as if reading her mind.

"Whoopsy. I wouldn't do that if I were you," Joker said. He opened his mouth very wide and showed her a row of silver teeth.

"What? You're showing me you haven't been flossing?" Diana said, still holding her fist.

"Of course not, silly. My mouth is actually a minefield. You punch me, you blow us all into well… _boom_. Teeny tiny bits of Wonder Woman, Joker, Mister Butler, and Walter over there."

"You are a very sick man," Diana said, lowering her hand but not letting her guard down.

"Smart is more like it," Joker said, tapping his temple. "I was going to save this tidbit of information for Bats but you are a far more pleasant surprise." Joker held the knife tighter. "Now let's begin Operation Superbaby!"

Diana dodged the knife's blow, which was aimed at her belly. With deft moves, she singlehandedly deflected his attack and hit his chest, sending him flying out the car. She was about to grab Alfred when a hand crashed through the window from behind, choking her. She hit Joker's bodyguard in the face but it was like hitting a Cyclop's rock-hard ass.

She was beginning to lose focus, from the lack of oxygen.

_Bruce. Help me. _

Through the dark haze that threatened to take her child away, Diana heard Joker's giggle, felt Walter's dirty hand suffocating her. The thought of them stealing her child and raising her baby for their selfish gain woke her up. She was angry, bent on murder. Everything suddenly turned red, a dark, bloody red.

She bit Walter's forearm, causing him to cry out in pain. Joker stopped for a minute, surprised that she wasn't unconscious yet. Diana used her weight to torpedo against Walter, breaking the door behind her, leaving Walter motionless on concrete floor.

Diana rose hesitantly, still holding her unborn baby protectively. She glared at Joker, who was standing at the opposite end of the car, reciprocating her stare. He broke out in a smile once again, taunting Diana to make a move.

But she stood where she was, glancing at Alfred who groaned a little. He began to stir and Diana was at a dilemma. If she moved now, Joker anticipated it. But if she waited too long, Alfred's life was on the line. She smelled blood and gas mingling together. The truck that crashed into their car had been dripping with gasoline, causing a trail that ended at rear end of Bruce's Bentley.

Looking into Joker's eyes, she could read what he was thinking. One false move, and he'll set the car on fire. She knew because he held something in his hand. And even though Diana was quick enough to grab Alfred and deflect a fatal swing from Joker, Joker had so many tricks up his sleeve that their game wasn't about stealth. It was purely a mind game.

That's how Bruce had survived the whole time.

_Bruce__…_ Diana closed her eyes, her frustration welling up. _Where in Hera's name are you?_

"Where's baby daddy, Princess? Did he get cold feet?" Joker said, tilting his head playfully. "Where could he be?"

"What are you, social services?" A deep, throaty voice said from behind Joker.

Surprised and yet excited, Joker whirled around to face Batman.

"Ah, there you are!" Joker exclaimed.

«Δεν τον χτύπησε στο πρόσωπο. έχει μια βόμβα στο στόμα του.» Diana said, speaking in Greek so only Bruce could understand. _Don't hit his face. His teeth is wired with explosives._

While Joker was mesmerized by Batman's presence, in that split second Diana rushed to Alfred's side, wrenched the door open, and as gently as she could, pulled the butler out of harm's way. Joker dropped something from his hand—a bomb it seemed—but Batman dove and caught it, kicked him in the gut and shoved the bomb in his mouth, leaving Joker to writhe in shock and pain.

Batman held Alfred and asked Diana if she was hurt. She shook her head but he knew she was lying. Fatigue and frazzled nerves were written all over her face. Before Batman contacted J'onn, he turned around and said to Joker, "Cat got your tongue?"

Bruce smirked when he heard Joker yell in frustration as they were beamed into headquarters. As soon as they arrived at the teleportation area, Diana's legs gave in to exhaustion. Before her head hit the floor, Flash came to her rescue.

"Weren't you guys on a date?" Flash asked.

"Joker knows she's pregnant," Bruce said, calling for the medics.

"Do you always jump to the conclusion before explanation? Have you ever heard of the onion peel of writing papers? I learned that in fourth grade."

"You don't say. I wouldn't have guessed." Batman said, caressing Diana's face before the medical team rolled her and Alfred to the emergency room.

Bruce and Flash followed them to the waiting room. They watched silently as the red light flashed, causing dread to shaken Bruce's composure a bit. Flash laid a hand on Bruce's shoulders, hoping to ease the tension.

"She's going to pull through. She's Diana after all," Flash reassured him.

Bruce nodded.

Soon, footsteps thundered along the hallway. Shayera and Clark rushed to Bruce and Flash with questioning looks.

"Is Diana alright?" Shayera asked.

"All J'onn told us that Diana was in a car accident," Clark said.

Flash filled them in, as Bruce sat in the waiting chair. He was frustrated with himself. How could he leave Diana and Alfred alone, in the middle of a bank robbery where Joker was the mastermind? Stupid. Reckless. Ignorant. He was so focused on the matter at hand that he neglected to consider the safety of the most important people in his life. His negligence nearly cost their lives and Bruce was purely at fault. And what made things worst was that Joker now knew she was pregnant. Bruce didn't want to think of the repercussions of tonight's train of events. He didn't want to delve into Joker's mind right now. Not now. And he wished, not ever.

"Bruce," Shayera sat next to Bruce. "We'll do everything to protect her."

Bruce didn't say anything. "I shouldn't have left them alone like that. I was short-sighted by the damn motherf*$#er."

Shayera nodded. "Yes. Yes, you were."

Bruce narrowed his eyes at her. "You—"

"How could you leave your pregnant girlfriend in the car while you saw Joker was behind the damn fiasco? You know him better than that! You're lucky he didn't see you change from Bruce Wayne, but you know what? I can't be too sure about that either. You just flew out of the car without a moment's hesitation." Shayera sighed. "I don't even know what to say to you."

"You've said more than a mouthful," Bruce said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Clark, John, and Wally looked anxiously at the two of them. They were shocked at Shayera's response to Bruce's situation. They never knew she would be so blunt toward him, especially with something so sensitive.

They questioned amongst themselves if Shayera was pregnant again. John and Wally exchanged a glance, and John could barely swallow the lump that formed in his throat.

"What are you going to do now? Diana is not safe now. Knowing Joker, he could be forming a legion to track her down. We have to hide her somewhere."

"She can stay at my place," Wally offered.

"How do you think Linda's going to take that?" Shayera said.

"We have a spare room…"

"Fat chance," Bruce said, deep in thought.

"What about the Fortress of Solitude?" Clark suggested.

"You want her to freeze to death?" Bruce said.

"What makes you think I didn't install a heater in there?" Clark said, sounding slightly hurt.

"What about Themyscira?" John said, shrugging his shoulders. "She'll be safe among her sisters, even if they're under attack, didn't they say she's blessed with the protection of the gods?"

Bruce and Shayera mulled it over in the heads.

"Wow, I'm impressed. Didn't think you of all people would come up with such an idea." Shayera said, nodding her head.

"What are you implying, _dear_ wife?" John asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Seems like fatherhood hasn't stripped you up there," Shayera stood up and kissed her husband's cheek. "I'm ovulating by the way." She walked past him, taunting him with a seductive wink. "Oh, and Bruce, I suggest you consider Themyscira. If not Themyscira, at least talk to the Queen and ask the gods for their protection. They'll help no matter what."

The men gawked at her retreating figure. John was practically shaking like a leaf. His friends didn't know if it was due to excitement or fear for what the night laid ahead of him.

"Dude, I am so sorry," Wally said, patting John's shoulder. John sighed, returned Wally's gesture.

"A man's gotta do what… oh hell. She's gonna screw me crazy," John muttered, following his wife's shadow that led to their room.

"I honestly don't know if I should be happy or sad for him," Wally said, blowing out a long sigh.

"I'd say the former. It's not everyday the wife wants to screw a husband like crazy," Clark said with sincerity.

One of the doctors finally appeared from the emergency room. He removed the mask and relayed the news to them.

"Their conditions are both stable. The baby's fine," the doctor smiled at Bruce.

Bruce slumped back with relief. "Thank God."

"Thanks, doctor," Clark said.

When the doctor left, Bruce stood up and made his decision. He called Nightwing.

"Where are you?"

"Bludhaven. What's going on?"

Bruce retold tonight's near tragedy, asking for Dick's help.

"I'll let Donna know right away. And Alfred?"

"He's going to recuperate in HQ. If things don't calm down, I'll have him stay at your place in the meantime."

"Fine by me. Although…"

"What? Don't tell me she's staying with you?" Bruce asked gruffly.

"Jeez, did _she_ tell you?" Dick said, exasperated.

Bruce only sighed. "I just don't want Alfred to be uncomfortable."

Confused, Dick asked, "Alfred's the one who told me to talk to her… about us. Well, you know Alfred, 'Sir, you must tell her your true feelings.' You know, sappy confession and shit."

"Well, just make sure she goes back to Themyscira with Diana. I'm sure Diana wants her sister to be with her the entire time."

"Donna? What makes you think Donna's living with me?" Dick suddenly wished he hadn't revealed too much.

"Dick. Who's with—?"

"Dick? Who are you talking to?" A familiar voice asked from Dick's end.

"Barbara?" Bruce asked in a whisper. If Dick and Barbara had been living together this whole time, then why was Dick fooling around with Donna? One thing that Bruce didn't tolerate was cheating, especially if his sons were involved. He may have reprised the role of billionaire playboy for many years, but Bruce never believed in betraying a woman's heart. His playboy role was merely a façade. Nothing deep and affectionate.

"Dick. What did I tell you about playing around?" Bruce asked.

"Before you jump into conclusions, get the facts straight. I gotta go. I'll call Donna and let her know Diana's on her way home."

Dick ended the call right away.

Bruce didn't want to probe. He respected and trusted Dick. If Dick was ready to tell him, then he'd listen. But for now, Diana needed him. He walked through the emergency doors, choosing to stay by his girlfriend and butler's side.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"What do you want?" Lex Luthor asked without looking up from his paperwork. It was pointless to ask how he got through security.

"Nothing from you. But I have something that'll tickle that power-hungry mind of yours," Joker said, sitting on Lex's desk.

"What do you have that could possibly hold my interest?" Lex stood up, his back facing Joker.

"I call it, Operation Superbaby," Joker said with a sinister voice, snickering at the back of his throat.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

To be continued…

You Like? No Like? Please review.

Author's note: I used Google translate for the Greek translation so if you know Greek, blame google. I only typed the words and they supplied me with their version. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know. I'm more than happy to hear from you.


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